Photo courtesy Islamabad High Court
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Sunday denounced a “malicious” social media campaign targeting Justice Babar Sattar by accusing him of holding U.S. nationality and having business interests in a private school of Pakistan.
In a statement issued by the IHC Public Relations Officer, the court noted that Sattar’s confidential information, including travel documents of himself and his wife and children, was shared online as part of a “false, malicious and contemptuous” campaign. It said details provided in his tax returns were also posted online with false and malignant allegations, stressing this information was not public.
“Justice Babar Sattar has never had any nationality other than that of Pakistan,” it said. “He studied law at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar and pursued graduate education at Harvard Law School. He worked as a lawyer with a law firm in New York and while living and working in the U.S., was issued the Permanent Resident Card (also called green card) after being regarded as a person of extraordinary ability. He left his job in the U.S. in 2005 and returned to Pakistan and has lived and worked in Pakistan since then,” it added.
According to the press release, the judge’s wife and children are dual citizens of Pakistan and the U.S. “They were living in the U.S. till 2021, but returned to Pakistan after Justice Babar Sattar was appointed as a judge of the IHC and now live in Islamabad,” it added.
Referring to the properties owned by Justice Sattar, the IHC PRO said these were either inherited or bought while he was a lawyer and were duly registered in his tax returns. He has bought no property since becoming a judge, it added.
The press release said Justice Sattar had apprised then-IHC chief justice Athar Minallah of his green card prior to his elevation as a judge of the IHC, adding there were no legal barriers to this. It also noted that the judge’s mother was an educationist who established a school in Rawalpindi in 1992 as its sole proprietor. Sattar has no ownership interest in the schools and was never involved in its management, it said, adding his law firm acted as legal adviser to the school and received retainer fee for its legal services prior to his elevation as judge.
“Justice Babar Sattar owns real estate assets in Pakistan and the U.S., which are listed in his Tax Returns that were scrutinized by the Judicial Commission of Pakistan prior to his elevation as the judge,” it said, emphasizing the judge had not presided over any case involving any personal interests or his family.
“This press release is being issued as the IHC is committed to upholding and enforcing the code of conduct for judges of the high court, and as an institution exercising public authority, it remains accountable to the people of Pakistan,” it added.
Meddling in judicial affairs
Separately, local media reported that judges of the IHC had “unanimously” agreed to a four-point resolution to address external meddling in judicial affairs.
The resolution proposes that any IHC judge approached by someone to influence their decisions should report the matter to the chief justice of the high court in writing within seven days of the occurrence. District judges have similarly been asked to report such matters within seven days to inspection judges, with a warning that failure to do so could attract misconduct and disciplinary proceedings.
The judges have also proposed an institutional response to any meddling attempt calling for criminal proceedings against a private individual. In case the individual is linked to any official department, then the administration would take up the matter with the bosses of the department concerned.
The resolution has also proposed that Article 204 of the Constitution, which deals with contempt of court, might be invoked against people who try to interfere in judicial affairs, adding this would be determined by the high court’s Administration Committee.