Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced on Thursday that the government has decided to withdraw the Curative Review Petition against Supreme court judge Justice Qazi Faez Isa.

In a tweet, he wrote that the petition “was based on ill-will & meant to harass & intimidate the honourable Judge at the behest of Imran Niazi”.

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Back in 2019, PTI had filed a petition that alleged that Justice Isa had purchased three properties in London on lease in the name of his wife and children between 2011 and 2015, but did not disclose them in his wealth returns.

Justice Isa contested the allegation, saying he is not a beneficial owner of the flats directly or indirectly. He is expected to become the chief justice of Pakistan in September this year.

A statement by the Prime Minister’s Office on Thursday said that Justice Isa and his family were harassed and defamed.

“This was not a reference, but a vendetta by Imran Khan Niazi, a vindictive person, against a fair-minded judge who followed the path of the Constitution and the law,” the statement said.

“The reference was a nefarious conspiracy to divide the independence of the judiciary. PML-N and allied parties had condemned the move even when they were in the opposition.”

It stressed that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan misused the constitutional office of the president and President Arif Alvi “became an instrument in the attack on the judiciary and an accomplice to a lie.”

The PMO added that lawyer organisations across the country, including the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC), had also opposed the reference and asserted that their opinion was valued.

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Last year, the federal cabinet had decided to withdraw the petition as well, noting that the action was taken by the previous government through “unfair use of authority”.