Prime Minister Imran Khan has categorically denied having any properties in the UK and said he was ready to resign and the properties should be confiscated if proved that he owned them, this was conveyed to the Supreme Court by the government on Wednesday during the hearing of Justice Qazi Faez Isa’s applications submitted against the presidential reference filed against him.
The government counsel, Dr Farogh Naseem, told the court that the government is willing to second the apex court’s proposal that it could pursue the reference before the Supreme Judicial Council after exhausting tax scrutiny before the Federal Board of Revenue.
Farogh Naseem further told that court that he met Prime Minister Imran Khan who had no objection to the proposal provided the judge and his wife assured the tax commissioner of their cooperation.
Farogh Naseem further said the PM had also denied of having any properties in the United Kingdom and said he was ready to resign and the properties should be confiscated if proved that they belonged to him.
Justice Faez Isa on Wednesday also offered the Supreme Court to listen to his wife who, he said, wanted to present her case via video link. Justice Faez told the 10-member bench headed by Justice Umar Atta Bandial that she won’t share anything with the FBR.
The Supreme Judicial Council, he said, did not even ask him to appear in person and present his case, as he also questioned whether anyone hid the properties in London. It had been admitted that the properties belonged to his wife and children, said the Supreme Court judge.
Justice Faez remarked that he should be removed from the office if he wasn’t illegible to be a judge but added that the court should follow the law in making the judgment.
He said he was appearing before the court in his personal capacity. They should sue him if he had stated something wrong, Justice Faez challenged and added that he wasn’t even provided with the copy of the presidential reference.
When Justice Yahya Afridi remarked that they were hearing Farogh Naseem, the government’s council, and, therefore, it was not appropriate to allow any other person to speak, Justice Faez said he had to give his reply as the government had agreed with the proposal to send the matter to the FBR.
It all started as Justice Faez intervened during the arguments presented by Farogh Naseem and appeared at the rostrum. “It isn’t the case of Faez Isa, it is a case of every one of us,” he said.
Earlier, Justice Faez filed another application before the apex court, in which he argued for withdrawing all the privileges from Special Assistant to the PM on Accountability Shahzad Akbar and legal expert Zia-ul-Mustafa, abolishing the Asset Recovery Unit by declaring it illegal and making the plea part of the main case.
According to the application, the search engine used to find his family’s properties also show that Prime Minister Imran Khan and several other government members have properties outside the country.
The search engine, 192.com, reveals, the application mentions, Imran has six properties in the United Kingdom followed by five of Shahzad, seven of Zulfi Bukhari, three of Usman Dar, two of Pervez Musharraf and one each of Jahangir Tareen and Firdous Ashiq Awan.
In his latest application, Justice Faez said information about him and his family was collected through spying using illegal means and that both the Asset Recovery Unit and its chairman were illegal.