The wife of Supreme Court’s (SC) Justice Qazi Faez Isa, Sarina Isa, has informed the police that her husband has received a death threat via a video, prompting Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Gulzar Ahmed to take suo motu notice.
In an application seeking the registration of an FIR [First Information Report] at Islamabad’s Secretariat Police Station, Sarina claimed that the person threatening Justice Isa said whoever was caught involved in embezzlement, whether it be Faez Isa or anyone else, should be executed through a firing squad.
“Those who indulge in such activities must be hanged and the entire city should be invited to watch it,” the person in the video said, according to Justice Isa’s wife.
Sarina said that many powerful people were not happy with her husband and she suspected the death threat was in continuation of what they have been facing.
She said that a complaint against her husband was also submitted by a person named Abdul Waheed Dogar.
“My husband asked who Abdul Waheed Dogar is but no one in the government disclosed that for whom Dogar worked,” she said, claiming that Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Accountability Shahzad Akbar had met Dogar, urging the police officials to investigate the whereabouts of Dogar, who, according to her, was being used by “some very powerful people”.
She urged the police officials to arrest those “powerful people” who wanted to get rid of Justice Isa, calling it the “worst kind of terrorism”.
SUO MOTU NOTICE:
Meanwhile, the top judge has taken suo motu notice of the video containing derogatory and scandalous remarks about members of the judiciary.
According to a notification, a copy of which is available with The Current, the CJP will be taking up the case for hearing tomorrow at the SC.
The CJP has taken notice of the viral video containing derogatory, contemptuous and scandalous language against the institution of judiciary and judges, read the notification, adding that the case will be heard by a bench of the apex court on June 26 (tomorrow).
REFERENCE AGAINST JUSTICE ISA QUASHED:
The threats come days after the top court on Friday quashed the presidential reference filed against Justice Isa as well as the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) proceedings that were started on the basis of the reference.
A 10-judge full court had issued the verdict after hearing for over six months multiple petitions filed against the reference that claimed that Justice Isa had committed misconduct by not disclosing his family members properties in the United Kingdom (UK) in his wealth statement.
“Reference No 1 of 2019 is declared to be of no legal effect whatsoever and stands quashed, and in consequence, thereof the proceedings pending in the SJC against the petitioner [Justice Isa] including the show-cause notice dated 17.07.2019 issued to him stand abated,” said a short order.
In the split verdict, announced by the presiding judge Umar Ata Bandial, seven out of the 10 judges referred the matter to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) for initiating tax proceedings against Justice Isa’s spouse and children for not disclosing their UK properties to the tax authorities while filing their returns.
