Islamabad: The Supreme Court on Friday issued a show cause notice against independent senator Faisal Wawa and Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) leader Mustafa Kamala in a press conference against the Islamabad High Court (IHC) judges.
Both the leaders were asked by the apex court to appear on the bench in the next hearing.
A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa and comprising Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghani and Justice Irfan Saadat Khan conducted the hearing.
The alert erupted when the apex court heard a suo motu notice against Wawada’s press conference, citing internal agency interference in the proceedings of the IHC judge and Justice Babar Sattar’s citizenship letter.
“Stop targeting the organization, enough is enough. If there is an obstruction by the authorities, provide evidence and we will fight it,” he said.
A day after the Wadda press officer, Kamal addressed a press conference and demanded the implementation of the dual citizenship law in all institutions.
Wawda’s press conference came after a petition was filed with the IHC registrar to disclose correspondence between IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah and IHC Justice Babar Sattar on the green card issue.
The senator’s letter referred to the social media campaign against Justice Sattar, accusing him of holding US citizenship and running a private school in the country.
He studied law as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University and then graduated from Harvard Law School. He worked as a lawyer in a law firm in New York and was granted a permanent resident card (also known as a green card) after being deemed exceptionally capable while living in the U.S. In 2005, he quit his job in the U.S. and returned to Pakistan and has been living and working in Pakistan ever since. “
The apex court case came today when the IHC responded to Senator Wawda’s letter which said, “Information sought from lawyers being considered for appointment/appointment as Supreme Court judges does not include information about residence and/or citizenship of any country.. Pakistan.”
The IHC registrar wrote to Waw on behalf of IHC Chief Justice Adalat Farooq, stating that such residency/citizenship is not a disqualification for a judge under the country’s constitution.
