No proof of Isa’s dishonesty, apex court told

ISLAMABAD: The lawyer of Justice Qazi Faez Isa has told the Supreme Court that the presidential reference against the judge did not allege any dishonesty or corruption on his party and that a calculated media campaign had been launched against to malign him.

The ten-member bench was informed that the reference filed against Justice Isa did not allege that the judge owned London properties either directly or benami.

Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, a member of the bench, stated that the reference did not say that the children of the judge were dependent.

Justice Yahya Afridi, another member of the panel, asked defence counsel Munir A Malik as to whether the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) had issued notices to the spouse and children of the petitioner.

Malik replied in affirmative but contended that the FBR did not issue any notice to his client.

Her contended that head of the Asset Recovery Unit Shahzad Akbar, law minister, atorney general, law secretary, prime minister and President of Pakistan are privy to the presidential reference adding that these six persons leaked its main points to the media.

Malik told the court that up till tax year 2017 there was no substantial git given by his client either to his spouse or children.

He submited that his client had sold the property in Queta while his son-in-law bought the property in Kasur. Justice Faisal Arab asked the counsel about the date of formation of Asset Recovery Unit to which he replied that in 2018 the apex court had taken suo motu notice regarding the properties owned by Pakistanis abroad.

The lawyer submited that on May 10, 2019, when tax Assistant Commissioner Zia Ahmed But received a leter regarding the tax details of his client and on the same day, it was forwarded to International Commissioner Tax while an investigation on the complaint was started before dispatching it to the prime minister.

“Everything was taking place on the same day”, Malik argued adding that on March 7, 2019, the ruling coalition started raising objections to the judgment delivered by Justice Isa on the Faizabad sit-in.

He contended that Abdul Waheed Dogar filed a complaint on April 10 but did not give details about the foreign properties of the petitioner.

Dogar did not mention as how he managed to get those documents regarding the properties adding that Assets Recovery Unit chief Shahzad Akbar met Dogar and later on asked Minister of Law for investigation. Even Law Minister Faroogh Nasim did not mention as to how Dogar searched out the documents regarding the properties of the judge.