FAROGH Naseem has resigned as law minister to represent the government in the presidential references filed against Supreme Court judge Justice Qazi Faez Isa. This act of his seems to be part of a habit. Last year, he resigned from his portfolio to represent army chief Gen Qamar Bajwa in the case of the latter’s extension. He was promptly sworn back into the cabinet after the case was over. It is fairly obvious now that such is Mr Naseem’s legal prowess that the government cannot trust any lawyer in the country other than him to take on this important legal challenge. The credit for this indispensability cannot be taken away from Mr Nasim who has shown — repeatedly — that he is a man who wears many hats. When he resigned his office to represent Gen Bajwa, critics garlanded him with unflattering labels which would have caused many a person to blush. But not him. Mr Naseem stood his ground, defied all (evened) odds, won the case, and silenced his critics with the contempt many richly deserved for doubting his intentions. Wrapped in legal glory, Mr Naseem galloped back into the cabinet like a conquering hero.

Now once again he has unsheathed his sword of law, donned his judicial armour, straddled his statutory stallion and cantered out of the cabinet straight into the battlefield on Constitution Avenue. It is a short ride from the Prime Minister’s Secretariat to the court, and a short ride back. Justice Faez Isa may have branded him a ‘tout’ in his application to the Supreme Court, but Mr Naseem has proved time and again that he is above such provocations. He is a loyal soldier of the court, and of the government, and of the court again and this trait endears him to so many people who matter when it comes to appreciating the endearing traits of the talented Mr Farogh Naseem. In a landscape of constantly changing seasons, he is truly a man for all seasons.

Published in Dawn, June 3rd, 2020