President Dr Arif Alvi on Wednesday strongly rebuffed the impression that the contents of a reference against a judge of the Supreme Court were leaked from the President House as he said he had held a thorough investigation into it.

In an interview with Aaj News, he explained that he had received the reference against Justice Qazi Faez Isa, a judge of the apex court, moved by the ministry of law and justice.

The president elaborated that after receiving the reference, he had three options on his disposal. First to sit over it like those who used such things for blackmailing [threats], second for holding a media trial, and the third one to proceed in accordance with relevant laws.

He said he preferred the legal option by sending the presidential reference to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) under the specific laws and expressed the confidence that SJC would decide it in accordance with the law.

In May this year, against the backdrop of reports regarding institution of reference against Justice Isa, he had approached President Dr Arif Alvi, complaining that selective leaks to the media amount to his character assassination, thus jeopardising his right to due process and fair trial.

Currently, the five-judge SJC consisting of Chief Justice of Pakistan Asif Saeed Khosa, Justice Gulzar Ahmed, Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed, Sindh High Court Chief Justice Ahmed Ali M. Shaikh and Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Waqar Ahmed Seth is hearing two references against Justice Isa for allegedly possessing properties in the United Kingdom in the name of his wife and children as well as the judge’s act of writing two letters to President Alvi.