Farogh Naseem resigns as law minister, will represent govt in Justice Isa’s reference case

MQM-P leader Farogh Naseem on Monday said that he has resigned from his post as law minister on the “request of the prime minister of Pakistan”.

Naseem has stepped down in order to represent the government in the presidential references filed against Supreme Court judge Justice Qazi Faez Isa. In an official statement, Naseem said: “I’ll represent the federation in the case and therefore I have tendered my resignation as the law minister.”

“I have no personal vendetta [against] any person, judge, bar council or a lawyer not even with Justice Qazi Faez Isa,” he said further. “I will appear in the Honorable Court only as a lawyer to assist the Hon’ble Court.”

Naseem’s resignation has yet to be accepted by Prime Minister Imran Khan.

A set of petitions challenging the presidential reference filed against Justice Isa for not declaring three offshore properties in the name of his wife and children is currently being heard by a 10-member bench of the top court. The bench had last year issued notices to the federal government regarding the references, which have been filed in the Supreme Judicial Council.

Naseem was appointed as the law minister after he was elected in the 2018 general elections. He had resigned in November last year to represent the government in a case pertaining to the extension of Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa that was being heard by the Supreme Court.

After the case was decided, Naseem was sworn back into office.