Daily Times

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Asif Saeed Khosa on Sunday said the people of Pakistan should show faith in its judiciary, and assured them of a fair trial and rule of law in the proceedings on government references filed against Supreme Court’s Justice Qazi Faez Isa and two judges of the high court.

Although the CJP largely refrained from saying much on the case, as he had earlier said that the matter was not in his jurisdiction, he made it clear that the government did not hold the authority to remove Justice Isa, as the matter was solely the prerogative of the Supreme Judicial Council.

Meanwhile, the provincial bar councils, after the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), also announced a strike on June 14 over references filed by the government against Supreme Court’s Justice Qazi Faez Isa and two judges of the high court.

To ponder over the references against judges, a meeting of the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) and all provincial bar councils was held at the Supreme Court, during which the participants exchanged views on a future strategy in this regard and made some key decisions.

All bar councils have announced a strike on June 14 on account of hearing of a reference against Justice Isa.

Talking to the media after the meeting, PBC Vice Chairman Amjad Shah demanded withdrawal of the reference against Justice Isa. He said the meeting held on Sunday condemned Law Minister Farogh Naseem and Attorney General Anwar Mansoor Khan, and demanded them to step down from their respective posts.

Amjad Shah said the minister and the attorney general had both been part of the reference against Justice Isa. The reference negates freedom of judiciary, he maintained.

The PBC vice chairman said that their protest and campaign were not concerned with any institution or political party, and added, “We will record our protest remaining within the ambit of law.” He noted that no verdict was announced in all pending references, and expressed astonishment as to why the government was bent upon filing such a weak reference. “We have struggled for the freedom of judiciary and rule of law in the past, and we will do so now as well,” he asserted.

Hafiz Idrees said the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) served no notice on the honourable judges, and termed the references a violation of Article 10A as well. It is pertinent to mention here that the SCBA had already announced holding a protest sit-in over the reference filed against Justice Isa.

Earlier, the government filed references with the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) against two high court judges and one Supreme Court judge for owning properties abroad.

According to reports, the three judges own properties abroad but did not mention them in their wealth statements.

The SJC is the only constitutional authority mandated by Article 209 of the constitution to conduct inquiries into allegations of incapacity or misconduct against a judge of the Supreme Court or a high court. It consists of the chief justice of Pakistan as chairman, two senior most judges of the Supreme Court and two senior most judges of the high courts as members.