KARACHI: Ex-law minister Farogh Naseem on Monday clarified that he had no personal conflict with Justice Qazi Faez Isa, it was former Prime Minister Imran Khan who insisted on filing the presidential reference against the Supreme Court judge.
Answering a question on a TV talks shows, Naseem said that he would not speak against Imran Khan, but wanted to “clarify” the facts about the events related to the reference against Justice Isa.
“The summary against Justice Isa was a sensitive matter and every aspect of the case was scrutinized. I had no personal conflict with Justice Isa,” Naseem said, who contested the case on behalf of the government against the SC judge.
He said the ex-prime minister had insisted on filing the reference against Justice Isa based on the findings of the Assets Recovery Unit (ARU) — which was headed by then-advisor to the prime minister on accountability Shahzad Akbar.
Naseem said that the ARU was working directly under Imran Khan and noted that the judiciary was not against the PTI chairman.
“Right now, the country’s political situation is already very tense, and I don’t want to further intensify it,” he added.
On the other hand reacting to Naseem’s statement, another key member of former PM Imran Khan’s cabinet, Fawad Chaudhry said as Naseem was the law minister then, he should take responsibility for filing the reference.
The PTI leader said Naseem had “concocted the entire matter”. Chaudhry claimed that when the issue came under discussion during the federal cabinet’s meeting, he had voiced concerns against it.
Taking to Twitter Fawad said: “I said in the cabinet that it is not the government’s job to file references against judges. I said that if a reference is to be filed, then bar associations can do it.”
“Farogh Naseem, the reference was filed on your insistence,” he concluded.
It may be recalled that issuing a detailed verdict in Justice Isa’s review case in January, the Supreme Court had said that the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) obtained the tex record of the judge and his family in an ” unlawful” manner.
The detailed verdict followed a short order issued on April 26, 2021, where a 10-member full court bench, headed by Justice Umar Ata Bandial, wrapped up the review case.
It had set aside a June 19, 2020, judgment on the matter and nullified all proceedings that came as a result of it.
On June 19, 2020, a presidential reference filed against Justice Isa over alleged failure to disclose properties in London was quashed by the apex court.
But in an informal conversation with journalists today, the ousted prime minister said it was a mistake to file a reference against the judge while claiming that the then-law minister Farogh Naseem had briefed him on Justice Isa’s properties and assets.
