ISLAMABAD: Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) president Amanullah Kanrani has given a call to observe July 12 as a “black day” when the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) will hold the third hearing of references filed by the government against two superior court judges.

In a statement, the SCBA president stated that all the respective bar councils and bar associations should express solidarity with Justice Qazi Faez Isa of the Supreme Court as well as Justice K.K. Agha of the Sindh High Court (SHC) on Friday.

A five-member SJC consisting of Chief Justice of Pakistan Asif Saeed Khosa, Justice Gulzar Ahmed, Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed, SHC Chief Justice Ahmed Ali M. Shaikh and Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Waqar Ahmed Seth is hearing the references against Justice Isa for allegedly possessing three properties in the name of his wife and children and Justice Agha for allegedly having two properties in the United Kingdom.

Lawyers’ bodies have been asked to observe July 12 as ‘black day’

PBC vice chairman Syed Amjad Shah has already announced that as usual the council would hold a protest demonstration outside the Supreme Court premises to express their anger against the filing of the presidential references by the government against the judges.

Representatives of different bar councils and bar associations will be invited, like earlier, to attend the protest demonstrations during which they will chant slogans against the government as well as in favour of independence of the judiciary and rule of law and the constitution.

In the statement, Mr Kanrani recalled that he has already constituted a 10-member committee to be headed by him to streamline and chalk out a comprehensive strategy to further strengthen the countrywide protest against the filing of the references.

The 10-member coordination committee will interact with lawyer representative bodies across Pakistan to make the proposed countrywide movement a success like the epic 2007 lawyers’ movement.

Mr Kanrani has appealed to the members of the committee as well as other leaders and representatives of different lawyer’s bodies to attend the protest in large numbers by coming to the Supreme Court building when the hearing of the SJC would be held on July 12.

He has also asked lawyers’ leaders of different high court bar associations to decide by them whether they will also be holding similar protest demonstrations against the filing of the references at the respective high courts in view of the summer vacation in the high courts.

The government in its reference against Justice Isa has alleged that the sources to acquire foreign properties by his wife and children were not accounted for, therefore, the SJC should probe the matter to assess whether these properties were acquired through laundered money.

The government has also alleged that the SC judge has violated Section 116 (1) (b) and Section 116 (2) of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 by allegedly concealing foreign properties of his wife and children.

It is alleged in the reference against Justice Agha that although he declared his foreign properties in 2018, he did not disclose their value.

Published in Dawn, July 7th, 2019