ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Sunday criticized a “malicious” social media campaign against Justice Babar Sattar, accusing him of holding a US nationality and having a business interest in a private school in the country.
The IHC stated that as a part of the malicious, false, and contemptuous campaign, Justice Sattar’s confidential information was posted and shared on social media platforms which included travel documents of the judge, his wife and kids.
It said that details provided in tax returns regarding his properties were also being shared on social media with false and evil allegations.
The IHC’s public relations officer said in the statement that Justice Babar Sattar has never had any nationality other than that of Pakistan. He studied law at Oxford University 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 United States, was issued the Permanent Resident Card (also called green card) after being regarded as a person of extraordinary ability. He left his job in 2005 and returned to the country and has lived and worked in Pakistan since then.
The statement said that Justice Babar Sattar’s spouse and children are citizens of Pakistan and the US. They were living in the United States till 2021, but returned to Pakistan after Justice Babar Sattar was appointed as a judge of the IHC and now live in Islamabad.
Justice Babar Sattar’s Properties
The IHC PRO further said all the properties that Justice Babar Sattar held, whether in Pakistan or the United States, were either inherited or bought while he was a lawyer and they were registered in his tax returns. He bought no property since he became the judge, the official said.
The statement said that prior to Justice Sattar’s elevation as a judge of the IHC, he had reported to the IHC chief justice that he was a Pakistani national and had a green card that allowed him to travel to the United States without a visa.
As per the IHC statement, the judge’s mother was an educationist who set up a school in Rawalpindi in 1992 as its sole proprietor. While the judge had no ownership interest in it and was neither involved with its management.
However, it said, before being appointed a judge, his law firm worked as a legal adviser to the school and received a retainer fee for its legal services.
