ISLAMABAD - The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Tuesday permitted former Law Minister Barrister Farogh Naseem to represent the federation in Justice Qazi Faez Isa’s petition against the Presidential Reference.
A 10-member bench of the apex court headed by Justice Umar Ata Bandial conducted hearing of identical petitions challenging the presidential reference against Justice Qazi Faez for allegedly not disclosing his foreign properties in his wealth statement. Besides the apex court judge, Pakistan Bar Council, Supreme Court Bar Association, Bar Councils & Association of Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan and Abid Hassan Minto, and I A Rehman have also challenged the Presidential Reference against Justice Qazi Faez Isa.
In the beginning of the hearing, Munir A Malik counsel for Justice Faez objected to the appearance of Farogh Naseem on behalf of federation. He said that former Law Minister has to produce a certificate from Attorney General for Pakistan and the federation in order to represent the federal government. After Farogh Naseem submitted AGP certificate the bench allowed him to argue the case.
Farogh Naseem, represented federation and Shahzad Akbar, after reading Abdul Hameed Dogar’s complaint, for filing reference, referred Gotham Forest property of Justice Qazi Faez’s spouse. He said that over the weekend when the federation decided to engage him to represent it then he got hold of this document. He said that it was annexed with Abdul Hameed Dogar’s application but could not be filed earlier as was not available.
Justice Sajjad Ali Shah said that for two days Munir A Malik had contended that there was no document of the property attached with Dogar’s application. He had argued that if the document was known then the whole case would have resolved. Justice Sajjad said that for two days complainant Hameed Dogar stood before the bench and when they inquired from him about property document, he failed to produce it.
Justice Mansoor questioned how the complaint landed in the ARU. He further asked is the ARU the proper forum for proceeding under Article 209 of Constitution.
