The Supreme Court on Friday reserved judgement in Justice Qazi Faez Isa’s case against the presidential reference filed against him for non-disclosure of family members’ properties in his wealth statement.
A 10-judge full court, led by Justice Umar Ata Bandial said the SC would like to discuss the decision with each other and adjourned the hearing till 4pm.
Justice Bandial maintained that the apex court will examine whether the case should be completely quashed. He said, “It is not an easy case. We will act strictly in accordance with the law.”
A day earlier, Justice Isa’s wife recorded her statement before the court via video link.
The court, while expressing satisfaction over the statement of spouse of Justice Isa, asked her that in order to examine the matter on merit, she would have to approach the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) or the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), and a decision in that regard would be given by the tax authorities.
Justice Isa had informed the Supreme Court the other day that his wife was willing to explain before the apex court through video link about the three properties acquired in United Kingdom (UK).
Recording her statement, the lady thanked the apex court for providing her with such an opportunity. “I am very much nervous as this is my first experience before the court, but I will try my best to follow your instructions,” Zarina said, adding that it has been a critical time for her as her father was near to death these day.
She said that she was married to Justice Qazi Faez Isa in the year 1982, and also showed her birth certificate and the old National Identity Card, saying her name was Zarina, adding that she did not know that she would buy properties in London after 21 years of marriage.
She submitted that she got her computerized identity card in the year 2003 and her name remained the same, adding that at that time her husband was not a judge. She said that she was entitled to Spanish passport, as her mother was Spanish and therefore she has a Spanish passport.
She said that when her visa expired, she applied for a fresh visa. When she got it, her husband was not a judge, but a lawyer. “So the allegation that I used the office of my husband for acquiring the visa was baseless,” Zarina Isa contended.
She stated that in the year 2020, she was granted visa only for one year and prior to that she was harassed and that’s why she was granted visa for a very limited period of time. She said that she bought the first property in the year 2004 in United Kingdom, adding that she was employed at an American School in Karachi and at that time, one Rehan Naqvi used to deal with her tax matters.
The spouse of Justice Isa showed the court the certificate issued by the tax authorities as she was filing her tax returns, adding that when her tax record was transferred from Karachi to Islamabad, she asked the FBR in that regard; however, she alleged that the FBR did not reply to her request.
She said that she had agricultural lands which were in Jaccobabad (Sindh) and Dera Murad Jamali (Balochistan) while her father used to look after the land while the government was well aware of all that.
She said that Rehan Naqvi had advised her to open foreign account, which she did and through that account, she transferred the money abroad for purchasing the properties. At this, she showed the court the record of her foreign currency account, saying she had to face great difficulties in seeking its details as, she added, the bank didn’t maintain 10-year old account.
The spouse of Justice Isa submitted that from 2003 to 2013, the whole amount was transferred from these accounts to London for purchasing these properties, adding that the money was transferred in her name and from her account as well.
She said that she bought one property for 236,000 sterling pounds, adding that she transferred 700,000 sterling pounds through a private bank for purchasing the properties. “All documents which I have shown are genuine and authentic and the London Bank Account is also in her name,” Zarina Isa added.
She said that another property was purchased in 2013 for 245,000 sterling pounds and in that flat, her son was living, while another property, which was in her and her daughter’s names was purchased for 270,000 sterling pounds. She said that now she was filing tax returns both in the UK and Pakistan, adding that she had already filed tax returns of London properties in the year 2018.
