SC directs federal govt to collect information from FBR
The Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday directed the federal government to collect information from the FBR regarding foreign properties of spouse of Justice Qazi Faez Isa and submit it before the court on Monday.
The court directed Aamir Rehman, Additional Attorney General, to collect the information from the FBR regarding foreign assets of the spouse of Justice Qazi Faez Isa. A ten-member full court headed by Justice Umar Ata Bandial resumed hearing into the identical petitions challenging presidential reference filed against Justice Qazi Faez Isa for allegedly not disclosing his foreign properties in his wealth returns.
Other members of the bench include Justice Maqbool Baqir, Justice Manzoor Ahmed Malik, Justice Faisal Arab, Justice Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel, Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice
The case took a new turn when Salman Akram Raja, counsel for Pakistan Bar Council (PBC), while continuing his arguments quoted media reports and pointed out to the court that wife of the petitioner Justice
Qazi Faez Isa the other day visited the office of FBR and asked the authorities concerned as to why she was not issued notice for her foreign assets, but had asked her spouse.
He submitted that the wife of Justice Faez Isa visited the FBR office seeking information regarding transfer of her tax record from Karachi to Islamabad besides inquiring as to why she was not issued notice on for her foreign assets.
“The FBR authorities did not cooperate with the lady,” Salman Raja informed the court. At this, Justice Umar Ata Bandial asked Additional Attorney General Aamir Rehman who told the court that the whole reference is based upon foreign property.
Munir A Malik, counsel for Justice Qazi Faez Isa, submitted that he was not representing the spouse of the petitioner, but only the petitioner (Justice Faez Isa). He further submitted that Justice Faez Isa is not answerable to his spouse.
Munir A Malik informed the court that he came to know that wife of Justice Faez Isa visited the FBR office seeking guidance for shifting her tax record from Karachi to Islamabad as he said that the last date for filing tax returns is January 31 that’s why she wanted to know the procedure for it as no such information was available on the portal of FBR.