Presidential reference: Justice Isa contacts top lawyers for his defence

ISLAMABAD: Justice Qazi Faez Isa has started deliberations to form a panel of legal team for his defense before the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) in the presidential reference filed against him for allegedly having properties in London.

As the SJC issued show cause notice, Justice Isa started deliberation with senior lawyers for legal remedies and options available to him for pleading his case in the reference field against him.

Sources close to Justice Qazi Faez Isa confirmed to The News that the senior judge had contacted two senior lawyers and former presidents of Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) including Munir A Malik who was also a former Attorney General and Hamid Khan as well.

The sources said that Justice Isa is deliberating with the two lawyers, upon best legal remedies and options he can adopt in his defence before the SJC.

In the latest show cause notice, reportedly issued to Justice Isa asking him to explain within 14 days his position for writing letters to the president of Pakistan.

Meanwhile, when senior lawyer Hamid Khan was contacted, he confirmed that Justice Qazi Faez Isa had approached him for the deliberation.

“Yes, I have been contacted by Justice Qazi Faez Isa, and I would love to be one of the members of his legal team”, Hamid Khan, senior lawyer and former SCBA president confirmed to The News. He said that he had consented to provide Justice Isa every possible legal assistance and would guide him by availing himself of the best legal remedies available.

When asked if Justice Isa had also contacted former Attorney General Munir A Malik, Hamid Khan said that he came to know Mr Malik was also contacted adding that they would love to have Munir A Malik to plead Justice Isa’s case in SJC.

Munir A Malik may return to Pakistan next week as he had gone to California to see his brother who is under medical treatment there”, Hamid Khan told The News.

Despite of repeated attempts, Munir A Malik could not be contacted.

Meanwhile, legal experts are of the view that to defend himself in the presidential reference Justice Qazi Faez Isa can opt for legal remedies available to him.

They are of the view that Justice Isa may invoke Article 184(3) of the Constitution and challenge the presidential reference. The legal circle recalled that a test case of 2007 of former chief justice of Pakistan Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry verses President Pervez Musharraf was available wherein a 13-member larger bench of the apex court headed by Justice (R) Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday quashed the presidential reference against Justice Chaudhry on the basis of mala fide intention.