Following is the text of second letter of Justice Faez Isa to president

Dear Mr President,

On May 28, 2019, I wrote to you inquiring if a reference had been filed against me, and if so, to kindly provide me with its copy. Neither you nor the Hon'ble Prime Minister, who was also copied into the letter, extended me the courtesy of a response, nor was I provided with a copy of the reference

President's Reference

Under Article 209 (5) of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ("the Constitution"), if the President is of the opinion that a Judge of the Supreme Court" (a) "may be in capable of properly performing the duties of his office by reason of physical or mental incapacity or (b) may have been guilty of misconduct he may call upon the Supreme Judicial Council ("the Council") to inquire into the matter" and "after inquiring into the matter the Council reports to the President" (Clause (6) of Article 209). Since I suffer from no physical or mental incapacity, therefore, presumably clause (b) of Article 209 (5) of the Constitution is being applied.

Mr. President, the quoted extract from Article 209 (5) of the Constitution clearly requires all relevant facts to be first brought to your attention in order to enable you to form a reasoned opinion that I may have been guilty of misconduct I want to clarify that I do not question your right to submit a reference is indeed such precondition had been met, nor do I question the power of the Council to inquire into it. What I do question, Mr. President, is whether you were provided all the relevant facts in order to enable you to form a reasoned opinion to substantiate the allegation of misconduct?

Trail of a Judge by Hon'ble Members of the Government

Mr. President, before the Council issued me a notice and before I even had an opportunity to submit my reply, a campaign was launched against me and one with an aim to render the opinion of the Council irrelevant. Initially, insidious leaks of the reference were made, but when these failed to achieve the desired result, then in complete and utter disregard of their duties, Hon'ble members of the Government brazenly disclosed purported documents attached to the reference; documents which should have been in the exclusive possession of the Council. Mr. President, do these facts not suggest an ulterior motive?

Mr. President, the Hon'ble Minister of Law, the Hon'ble senior most members of the Ministry of Information, and other Hon'ble members of the Government disseminated selective portions and documents from the purported reference and have also spoken to the media about it, including referring to the purported reference in press conferences as Ehtisab ka Shakinja against me. In this proper conduct? Does such conduct accord with the Constitution?

Oaths of office

Before entering upon office, the President, the Prime Minister, Federal Ministers, Judges and others are required to make oath set out in the Third Schedule of the Constitution, the oaths also require:

That I will not allow my personal interest to influence my official conduct or my official decisions, that I will preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

The oaths of the President, the Prime Minister, Federal Ministers and others (but not those of Judges) also require:

And that I will not directly or indirectly communicate or reveal to any person any matter which shall be brought under my consideration or shall become known to me as President of Pakistan (Prime Minister/Federal Minister), except as may be required for the due discharge of my duties as President [Prime Minister/Federal Minister).

Mr. President, did not the Hon'ble members of the Government who disseminated the reference and/or spoke about it violate their solemn constitutional oaths of office?

Reference Filed Against Me

Mr. President, it has been reported that you sent a reference against me to the Council on the advice of the Hon'ble Prime Minister. Since I have not been provided a copy of the reference I can only presume that it contains allegations in respect of three properties situated in London which stand in the name of my wife and children. How does it follow from this that I have been guilty of misconduct? The reply to this allegation, if in fact this is the allegation, I will (if, and after, I receive a notice from the Council) submit to the Council.

Reports further allege that I did not disclose these properties in the wealth statement which I was purportedly required to submit pursuant to section 116 (1) (b) of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 ("the Ordinance"). Section 116 (1) of the Ordinance commences by stating that, "The Commissioner may, by notice in writing, require any person being an individual to furnish, on the date specified in the notice, a statement (hereinafter referred to as the "wealth statement") in the prescribed form and verified in the prescribed manner giving particulars of - (b) the total assets and liabilities of the person's spouse, minor children, and other dependents as on the dates or dates specified in such notice".

Firstly, I have not received a notice from the Commissioner. Secondly, my children are not minors, nor have they been so for quite a while. Thirdly, neither my spouse nor my children are my dependents. Fourthly, section 116 (1) (b) is not penal provision because section 116 (3) permits "any omission to be rectified in terms thereof.

Voluntary Disclosure

Mr. President, my family and I have been maliciously maligned by half-truths and innuendos by Hon'ble members of the Government, which is deeply distressing both for my family and myself. If the objective was to invade our private lives, create intrigue where there is none, and repeatedly violate our privacy then why was the whole truth withheld? I am therefore compelled to disclose facts with a view to expose false reports.

My wife is the daughter of Abdul Haque Khoso and the late Pelisa Carrera, a Spanish national. I am proud of the fact that my wife and children are well educated and independent, my wife amongst her many qualifications has a degree from Brunel University and specialization from Aston University. My daughter, 31, is married with three children. She did her LL.B. (Hons) from SOAS, Bar Professional Training Course from BPP University, LL.M. from University College London and was called to the Bar from the Middle Temple, making her the third generation of barristers in my family, my father was the first person to become a barrister from Baluchistan and my daughter is the first female barrister from the province. My son, 28, did his BA from Staffordshire University and then his MA from Birkbeck, University of London.

London Properties

The Government sleuths surely know that after completing their education both my children legally worked in London. The details of properties disseminated by the Hon'ble members of the Government are those in which they lived with their spouses. The properties are owned by those in whose names they stand. No attempt was made to conceal their ownership, they were not held under a trust, nor a special purpose vehicle or offshore company.

My Finances/Financials

I am under no obligation to disclose my finances/financials, but do so voluntarily because doubts having been cast upon my integrity. I am fully compliant with the taxation regime of Pakistan. I have never received a notice in respect of the said properties nor with regard to my wife and children. Once I joined the legal profession, I started filing the requisite returns and paid the applicable income tax. There is no outstanding demand of the income tax department against me, nor is there any income tax proceeding pending against me. I am confident that whosoever put the reference together must have combed my finances/financials with a tooth comb, but having failed to discover a single discrepancy proceeded to contrive allegations However, to avoid being accused of not making full disclosure, I may mention that there is an outstanding demand of refund which is due to me from the department, and which remains unpaid.

Before I became the Chief Justice of the Baluchistan High Court on August 5, 2009, I was a partner in one of Pakistan's leading law firms and one which was renowned for paying the highest amount of income tax in the country. My income derived from the firm, my former partner, whose share in the firm was more than mine, was bestowed the prestigious Sitara-e-Imtiaz in 2004 by the President of Pakistan for being the highest individual tax payer. I recollect that when I was elevated to the position of Chief Justice my annual salary was less than the amount of income tax that I paid for the previous year when I was still working as a partner in the firm. Mr. President, is it not ironic that those who pay the highest levels of income tax are persecuted and yet those whose tax contribution to the national exchequer is abysmal are not?

The Hon'ble Prime Minister

Mr. President, the published reports state that the reference was submitted to the Council on the advice of the Hon'ble Prime Minister. This would mean that the Hon'ble Prime Minister believes that the properties owned by one's spouse and children are required to be disclosed to the income tax authorities.

The apparent basis for the reference is my purported non-disclosure of my wife's and adult children's properties. According to the law, this was not required to be disclosed, but the Hon'ble Prime Minister thinks otherwise. Therefore, Mr. President, I take it that the Hon'ble Prime Minister had disclosed in all his tax returns the properties owned by his wives and children. If the Hon'ble Prime Minister did not do so he would surely not have advised you to submit the reference. Mr. President, was it checked whether the Hon'ble Prime Minister did disclose his wives and children's properties in his tax returns to confirm that his advice to you accorded with his own understanding and practice? Mr. President, will you ask the Hon'ble Prime Minister to kindly provide me copies of all his returns disclosing the properties of his wives and children held by them abroad.

Pressure Tactics

Mr. President, my "due process" and "fair trial constitutional protection has been violated even before the Council has issued me a notice and I've had an opportunity to submit my reply to the reference. Those Hon'ble members of the Government who think that by pressurizing me they will be able to make me violate my oath of office, to do "right to all manner of people, according to law, without fear or favour, affection or ill-will" should disabuse themselves of this notion. Against all odds, my father Qazi Mohammed Isa, had tirelessly worked with the members of the All India Muslim League under the extraordinary leadership of the Quaid-e-Azam to achieve freedom and Pakistan. I will not demean their ideals when something much larger than me is at stake.

Mr. President, I may have endured the iniquitous tactics employed against me and my family but does the matter not suggest something more sinister - to undermine the independence on the judiciary? Rest assured. Mr. President, that I will not permit this to happen and as per my constitutional oath shall, "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution". If the independence of the judiciary is destroyed then the fundamental rights of the people enshrined in the Constitution become little more than words on paper. The sanctity of the Constitution is on paramount concern to me. Article 5 of the Constitution stipulates, "Obedience to the Constitution and law is the inviolable obligation of every citizen", however, a far greater responsibility rests on those who hold constitutional offices. When the constitutional framework is repeatedly violated, then democracy slips into autocracy, and governance by the people becomes authoritarian rule. I am confident that you will do everything in your power to ensure that the Constitution of this great nation is obeyed by all. Finally, may I once again request you for a copy of the reference.

Yours sincerely,

Qazi Faez Isa

Judge Supreme Court of Pakistan

Copies to:

1) The Hon'ble Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

2) Registrar, Supreme Court of Pakistan.