Law Minister Barrister Dr Muhammad Farogh Naseem has no role in initiating references against the judges of the superior courts, as he believes in upholding rule of law and will continue to do so. "It is factually incorrect and a figment of imagination of media as Law Minister Farough Naseem has always been appreciated for upholding the rule of law," said a handout, issued by the Ministry of Law and Justice here on Friday.
The law minister was criticized in the media and an impression was impression given that Barrister Dr Muhammad Farogh Naseem has initiated the case against a senior judge of Supreme Court Justice Qazi Faez and Justice K K Agha, a judge of Sindh High Court and that he is the mastermind behind these references. "This is malicious news as Law Ministry on its own has no mechanism to look into the assets of any judge," said the statement.
The Ministry is bound to process complaints it receives from the Asset Recovery Unit and Federal Board of Revenue in the best interest of the country. The Ministry of Law and Justice and the Law Minister believe in upholding the rule of Law and will continue to do so.
The law ministry also clarified that no changes in the language of the Reference were made by the Ministry on the instructions of the President of Pakistan Arif Alvi. It explained that a section of media reported that the Ministry of Law and Justice had deliberately used harsh language in the Reference filed against Justice Faez Isa but had to modify the language of reference on the instruction of the President.
"There is no truth to the reports regarding changes made in the language of the Reference since no such directions were issued by the Aiwan-e-Sadar in this regard and no language was changed," said the statement.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Bar Council has convened a joint meeting of representatives of PBC and the Provincial/Islamabad Bar Council on June 8.
The two-day meeting will discuss the sending of references by the federal government to the Supreme Judicial Council against Justice Qazi Faez Isa, judge of Supreme Court and Justice K K Agha, a judge of Sindh High Court (SHC), and to chalk out future course of action.
The meeting will be held at the Bar Council's office in the Supreme Court building Islamabad to consider matter pertaining to Article 209 & 175-A of Constitution and the uniformity of Rules of Provincial/ Islamabad Bar Councils.
The chairman has also convened the Pakistan Bar Council meeting on 12th June at Islamabad to consider the prevailing situation and the pending matters of the Pakistan Bar Council.