ISLAMABAD  -  The Islamabad High Court (IHC) Sunday rejected a false, malicious and contemptuous social media campaign being run against its judge Justice Babar Sattar.

In this connection, the IHC Public Relation Officer (PRO) issued a statement saying that as part of the malicious campaign the confidential information has been posted and reposted on social media, including travel documents of Justice Sattar, his wife and children, accompanied by untruthful and malignant allegations, and details of his properties provided in his Tax Returns.

He said that the judge has never had any nationality other than that of Pakistan and he studied law at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar and pursued graduate education at Harvard Law School.

The statement said that he worked as a lawyer with a law firm in New York and while living and working in the US, was issued the Permanent Resident Card (also called Green Card) after being regarded as a person of extraordinary ability. He left his job in the US in 2005 and returned to Pakistan and as lived and worked in Pakistan since then.

It further said that Justice Babar Sattar’s wife and children are citizens of Pakistan and the US and they were living in the US till 2021, but returned to Pakistan after Justice Babar Sattar was appointed as a judge of the IHC and now live in Islamabad.

It continued that prior to Justice Sattar’s elevation as a judge of IHC, he had reported to Chief Justice Islamabad High Court that he was a Pakistani national and had a Green Card that allowed him to travel to the US without a visa.

The statement maintained that Justice Babar Sattar’s mother is an educationist who established a school in Rawalpindi in 1992 as its sole proprietor. Justice Babar Sattar has no ownership interest in it and is not involved with its management.

It added that before being appointed a Judge, his law firm acted as legal adviser to the school and received retainer fee for its legal services while the judge owns real estate assets in Pakistan and the US, which are listed in his Tax Returns that were scrutinized by the Judicial Commission of Pakistan prior to his elevation as Judge.

It also said that all real estate assets that he owns are either inherited or were acquired while he was a lawyer and he has acquired no real estate assets since his appointment as a Judge. He is not involved with the management of any business entity.

The PRO stated that as a Judge he has not presided over any cases in which any of his family members has any interest. He also said that this Press Release is being issued as Islamabad High Court is committed to upholding and enforcing the Code of Conduct for Judges of the High Court, and as an institution exercising public authority, it remains accountable to the people of Pakistan.