IHC dismisses ‘baseless social media campaign’ against Justice Babar Sattar

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has declared the “malicious campaign” against Justice Babar Sattar on social media as false and contemptuous.

IHC Public Relations Officer said in a statement: “A false, malicious and contemptuous social media campaign is being run against Justice Babar Sattar of Islamabad High Court. As part of the malicious campaign, the confidential information has been posted and reposted on social media, including travel documents of the judge, his wife and children, accompanied by untruthful and malignant allegations, and details of his properties provided in his tax returns.”

The statement said: “Justice Babar Sattar has never had any nationality other than that of Pakistan. 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 US, 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 US in 2005 and returned to Pakistan and has lived and worked in Pakistan since then. Justice Babar Sattar’s wife and children are citizens of Pakistan and the US. They were living in the US till 2021, but returned to Pakistan after Justice Babar Sattar was appointed as a judge of IHC and now live in Islamabad.”

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The statement said that “Prior to Justice Sattar’s elevation as a judge of IHC, he had reported to Chief Justice Islamabad High Court that he was a Pakistani national and had a Green Card that allowed him to travel to the US without a visa. Justice Babar Sattar’s mother is an educationist who established a school in Rawalpindi in 1992 as its sole proprietor. Justice Babar Sattar has no ownership interest in it and is not involved with its management.”

The statement said: “Before being appointed a judge, his law firm acted as legal adviser to the school and received retainer fee for its legal services. Justice Babar Sattar owns real estate assets in Pakistan and the US, which are listed in his tax returns that were scrutinized by the Judicial Commission of Pakistan prior to his elevation as judge. All real estate assets that he owns are either inherited or were acquired while he was a lawyer. He has acquired no real estate assets since his appointment as a judge. He is not involved with the management of any business entity. As a judge he has not presided over any cases in which any of his family members has any interest.”

It further said: “This press release is being issued as Islamabad High Court 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.”