Lawyers would boycott the courts across Pakistan on Friday, Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Amanullah Kanrani said while speaking to reporters here in the federal capital.
Addressing a press conference Thursday, Kanrani said the reference filed against Supreme Court Justice Qazi Faez Isa cannot be called an official one in legal terms at present.
"The matter, right now, is between the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) and the Attorney General," he said. "The matter is in its initial stages."
However, he added that till the SJC did not deem it fit enough to make a case for action, the reference was "just a mere piece of paper".
"Tomorrow, the lawyers across Pakistan will boycott the courts," he added.
Former CJP writes letter to SJC over Justice Isa reference
Earlier today, it was reported that Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, the former chief justice of Pakistan (CJP), wrote a letter to the SJC over the government’s reference against Justice Isa.
The SJC would hear the government’s reference on Friday (tomorrow), with the SBCA having called for a lawyers' strike.
The government had filed references against two superior court judges in the SJC after complaints were received against three of them, including Justice Isa, of owning properties abroad.
Former CJP Chaudhry, in his letter, stressed that sending a reference to the SJC without following procedures was in violation of the Constitution and law.
The letter further read that it was not stated anywhere in the reference that Justice Isa had violated the Article of the Code of Conduct. It added that due to the reference, the judge and institution of the judiciary, as a whole, had been scandalised.
According to Chaudhry, the reference — being against constitutional provisions, untrue, without substances, and motivated — may not be entertained and be rejected without further proceedings.
Chaudhry had said the SJC should take action against the president and prime minister for violating their oath.
In a letter written to President Alvi last month, Justice Isa requested confirmation of whether the reference filed against him was under Article 209 of the Constitution of Pakistan.
