ISLAMABAD: Justice Qazi Faez Isa and his wife Sarina Isa came forward on Thursday to voluntarily disclose their personal assets, the income tax they paid from the year 2018 to 2020 and the privileges he enjoys as a judge.

The disclosure was made in response to the demand by the Women’s Action Forum (WAF), which had invoked Article 19A of the Constitution and the right to information laws to seek the information about Justice Isa, his wife and children as well as similar information regarding other judges of superior courts and senior military officers.

In August last, the WAF had issued a statement seeking information of public office holders, including the chief justice and judges of the Supreme Court and the five high courts, chief of the army staff and lieutenant generals, major generals and brigadiers of the armed forces, air chief marshal, air marshals, air vice marshals and commodores of Pakistan Air Force and admiral, vice admiral, rear admirals and commodores of Pakistan Navy.

In response, Justice Isa issued a statement saying that he had paid Rs2.2 million as income tax in 2018 on the income of Rs15m earned that year, Rs1.79m tax in 2019 on the income of Rs17m and Rs2.6m tax in 2020 on the income of Rs21m.

Regarding his personal assets, Justice Isa said that he owned a residential plot measuring 800 square yards in Phase 2 of the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) Karachi, which he had purchased when he was practising law and on which he had built a house to live in.

Likewise, he owned another 800-square-yard residential open plot in the DHA, Karachi, which he had bought when he was practising law, the statement said, adding that he also owned another 200-yard commercial plot in Phase 5 of the DHA, which he had bought when he was practising law.

The statement said that Justice Isa had inherited from his father, the late Qazi Muhammad Isa, half share in a plot in Ziarat, Balochistan, next to the Quaid’s Residency, a sizeable portion of which had been encroached upon by the government.

According to the statement, he also owns an old house on a one-kanal plot in Block B, Phase 1, DHA, Lahore, which has been rented out and which was bought from partial utilisation of the sale proceeds of his share in a two-acre house and land situated on Lytton Road, Quetta.

Besides, Justice Isa has Rs41m in bank accounts and the amount equivalent Rs4m in foreign currency accounts.

Regarding vehicles, the statement said that he owned a Honda Accord car, a Honda Civic car and a mini Jeep.

About the official perks and privileges, the statement said that Justice Isa had one official residence in Islamabad, two servants provided by the government, one cook, part-time gardener and cleaners, two Honda Civic cars of 2017 and 2015 models with the permission to use up to 600 litres of petrol per month and avail free medical treatment at approved hospitals.

The statement said that neither as a judge of the Supreme Court nor as the chief justice of the Balochistan High Court, did he ever apply for a plot, rather he was offered one but he declined to accept it.

Like other judges of the Supreme Court and the high courts, the interior ministry vide SRO (1)/2019 of Aug 21, 2019 offered him prohibited bore weapons, but he declined to accept them.

Justice Isa said that he was permitted utilities of 300 free local calls, 2,000 units of electricity and 25 hundred cubic metres of gas per month.

About his wife, he said that she was not dependent on him and filed her own income tax returns in the United Kingdom and in Pakistan.

Like Justice Isa, Sarina Isa also voluntarily disclosed that she paid an income tax of Rs576,540 in 2018 on the income of Rs4m she had earned in the same year. Likewise, in 2019 she paid Rs809,970 tax for earning Rs5.3m and Rs1m tax on Rs6.6m income in 2020.

She said that she owned 24.7 acres of lands in Korar Deh, Zangipur Tapa, Thul tehsil, Jacobabad district, Sindh, and another 148.21 acres of land in the same area. In addition, she also owns a plot in Shah Latif Town, Karachi, which has been encroached upon, and three offshore properties in London.

According to the statement, she also owns Rs21m Saving Certificates and Rs15m in bank accounts in addition to the amount equivalent to Rs25m in foreign currency accounts.

She said that she had two children. Her daughter is 33 years old and married who lives in Pakistan and files income tax both in the UK and Pakistan, whereas her son was 30 years old, lives and works in London and regularly pays tax.

Published in Dawn, October 23rd, 2020