TERENCE J SIGAMONY

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Judicial Council on Tuesday held the second meeting to deliberate upon presidential references against Justice Qazi Faez Isa, a judge of Supreme Court, and Justice KK Agha, a judge of Sindh High Court.

A five-member SJC bench – comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Asif Saeed Khosa, Justice Gulzar Ahmed, Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed, Sindh High Court (SHC) Chief Justice Ahmed Ali M Shaikh and the Peshawar High Court (PHC) Chief Justice Waqar Ahmed Seth - heard the references in-camera against Justice Faez and Justice Agha for allegedly possessing properties in the United Kingdom.

The sources said that the meeting that lasted for 10 minutes was held in the chamber of Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khan, as neither Attorney General for Pakistan Anwar Mansoor nor the judges appeared. The Council considered the objections, which the two judges sent to SJC over the Presidential References, the sources added.

The representatives of the bar councils and associations gathered at the Supreme Court and remained there till the conclusion of SJC meeting. After that they held a joint press conference on the premise of Supreme Court building.

Syed Amjad Shah, vice-Chairman Pakistan Bar Council, said that they held a meeting at the PBC office on Tuesday, which was attended by SCBA President Amanullah Kanrani and vice-chairmen of bar councils of all the four provinces and Islamabad. It was also participated by presidents of high courts bar associations, he added.

Amjad Shah said that the references are based upon mala fide and are illegal and unconstitutional. The purpose of their struggle is not for any specific judge but for the independence of judiciary, which can guarantee fundamental rights of people.

He said that the lawyers’ leaders from all over the country would hold convention in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on 13th July to formulate future strategy. The lawyers on that day would boycott the courts all over the country.

President Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) Amanullah Kanrani said that July 2 will be remembered as ‘black day’. “Justice Faez was chosen to attack the third pillar of the state. Lawyers are not to be sold,” he said. He informed that the SCBA office-bearers consented to constitute coordination committee for interaction with the lawyer representative bodies across Pakistan in order to support the lawyers’ struggle for the independence of judiciary.