–PBC vice chairman demands resignation of law minister, attorney general for filing reference against SC judge
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) on Saturday announced that lawyers across the country will hold a protest on June 14 to express their disapproval against the misconduct reference filed against Supreme Court (SC) Justice Qazi Faez Isa.
After the filing of the reference against the judge, the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) issued a notice to the federal government for hearing the references against Justice Qazi Faez Isa and Sindh High Court (SHC) Justice Karim Khan Agha on June 14.
The two judges have been accused of possessing undeclared foreign properties and the government has sought action against them under Article 209.
In a press conference outside the apex court building in the federal capital, PBC Vice Chairman Amjad Ali Shah demanded resignations of the law minister and the attorney general of Pakistan for filing a reference against a top judge on ‘mala fide’ intent.
“The reference has no merit and is based on ill-intention,” he remarked.
The vice chairman also questioned the track record of the Supreme Judicial Council, saying it has a ‘tainted’ record. “Several references remain questionable and the apex court’s findings in regards to those have not been made public,” said Shah.
Criticising the reference, the PBC leader said the reference had a weak legal footing.
“The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), being the first authority to investigate the matter, did not serve a show cause notice to the judges, thereby committing a violation,” he said.
He urged the government to immediately withdraw the reference, adding that the decision to oppose the reference was not taken under pressure of any political party, in fact, the decision exclusively belonged to the lawyer representational body.
The purpose of the protest is to guard the essence of the Constitution and preserve the supremacy of law, he explained.
Besides PBC, the reference had drawn the ire of many other lawyer bodies, with Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) warning of protests within courtrooms on June 14, as well as burning copies of the reference.
In a presser on June 4, SCBA President Amanullah Kanrani said the judge was being punished for the “sins he never committed”.
The SCBA president added: “When you disqualify politicians on Article-62 and 63, judges should not have the right to make decisions about themselves. A third party should take decisions against the judges. The parliament should decide about the judges.”
The SCBA and the government came face-to-face after President Arif Alvi filed a complaint at the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) against alleged misconduct of Justice Isa and another apex court judge, who allegedly hold foreign properties either in their names or through their spouses.
Following the controversy, the SCBA demanded President Arif Alvi’s impeachment for filing the reference while superior bars expressed solidarity with the top court judge.
The government too has put down its foot, saying it won’t withdraw reference against the judge. Addressing a press conference after a weekly cabinet meeting, PM’s Special Assistant Firdous Ashiq Awan said: “If a citizen, regardless of which department they belong to, conducts an activity in violation of the law and Constitution of Pakistan, there will be no compromise on that and legal action will definitely be taken against them,” she said.
She had said that the prime minister cannot shut his eyes over such issues to escape any difficulties that may arise if the government takes action.
“The premier cannot compromise on his political interests and become a part of the status quo,” she had added.
FAIZABAD SIT-IN VERDICT:
However, many observers see the reference as an attempt to intimidate Justice Isa over his verdict pertaining to Faizabad sit-in. Additional Attorney General Zahid F Ebrahim on Wednesday resigned from his post, accusing the government of attempting to “browbeat the judiciary”.
The superior judge had given a verdict pertaining to the sit-in, which was highly critical of the military’s involvement in political activities and asked it to remain within the constitutional ambit.
It had directed the Defence Ministry and chiefs of the army, navy and air force to penalise the personnel under their command found to have violated their oath.
His verdict also criticised the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for 2014 sit-in that, according to the verdict, had set a precedent for the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) protest in the capital that had paralysed the twin cities for over 20 days.
The verdict had ruffled many a feather and at least three review petitions were filed against the verdict. In a petition filed by PTI, it said the judgement “suffers from defects” and “needs to be reviewed to avoid injustice”.
The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) approached the court through the Ministry of Defence to contest the verdict.
The petition, filed by Attorney General Anwar Mansoor Khan and Advocate Nawaz Chaudhry, had stated that the faith that some military “officers are violating the fundamental rights of the citizens, supporting a particular party and doling out cash to extremists” could “affect the rank and file’s morale”
It had claimed that the said judgement contains “adverse observations and negative declaratory remarks” regarding the armed forces, for it could “affect their morale”. Sheikh Rasheed of the Awami Muslim League also filed a review plea against the verdict.
