The federal cabinet on Monday gave post facto approval to the references filed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government against two judges of superior judiciary including Justice Qazi Faez Isa. The Law Ministry last week filed references against Justice Isa and Sindh High Court Judge Justice KK Agha in the Supreme Judicial Council after the President accorded his approval.
The Law Ministry, however, clarified that these references were filed on the complaint of the Prime Minister's Assets Recovery Unit and Federal Board of Revenue regarding undeclared offshore properties owned by the spouses of the judges. The Law Ministry was criticised for bypassing the federal cabinet and filing the references without the cabinet's approval.
However, the Special Assistant to PM Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan while briefing the media about cabinet meeting said that the law minister has formally intimated about the references and cabinet has endorsed filing of the references before the Supreme Judicial Council.
Awan said that the federal cabinet on Monday dismissed the criticism over the filing of references against the judges of superior courts, saying there are no holy cows in any department and that the government will continue to pursue uniform justice for all.
Awan said the law minister briefed the cabinet in detail regarding the complaints forwarded to the SJC against the judges which, she observed, has become a daily story for discussion in the media over the last few days. After learning of the facts, Prime Minister Imran Khan expressed the resolve that "no one is above the law," Awan said.
She said the ruling PTI had come into power with a mandate of ensuring uniform justice in the country and on a slogan of "one, not two Pakistans." "It cannot happen that Imran Khan becomes a part of the status quo and shuts his eyes to what is happening in order to prevent difficulties from rising against him," she said.
Recalling the chain of events behind the filing of the references, Awan said the Assets Recovery Unit (ARU) of the Prime Minister's Office had forwarded the complaints it received to the Law Ministry after "verification and counter-verification." The Law Ministry then did a re-verification of its own in light of the judges' tax returns and other documentation before forwarding the summary to the President who then sent it to the SJC.
She said the complaint had been "verified and ratified" by the UK Land Registry and notarised and endorsed by the High Commission of Pakistan in London. According to the minister, the cabinet condemned the impression allegedly created in the media that the references had been instituted by the government on a whim. She said that Prime Minister Imran had remained a part of the movement to restore the deposed judges and is ready to bring "every type of reforms" to make the judiciary independent and autonomous.
Awan emphasised that the SJC is a neutral forum that does not function under the government. "A complaint regarding the judiciary will be looked into by the judiciary, so how can it be considered an attack on the judiciary?" she said, responding to criticism by the opposition parties.
"There should be no politics of any kind on constitutional issues," she said, adding that because the constitutional means used to file the references had their origins in "Bhutto's Constitution [of 1973]", the criticism by the PPP supporters is unwarranted.
The SJC had last week issued a notice to the federal government through the attorney general regarding references filed against Justice Qazi Faez Isa and Justice Karim Khan Agha for hearing on June 14.
Awan said that Prime Minister Imran Khan fought the case of the Muslim Ummah at the OIC Summit in Makkah and the cabinet congratulated the Premier for raising the issue of Islamophobia at the summit. He is showing the real face of Islam to the world, she said. Speaking about the 12-point agenda of the cabinet meeting, she said it was decided that no compromise will be made on rule of law for any citizen.
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