Possessing the citizenship or residency of another country does not disqualify someone from becoming a judge under the Constitution of Pakistan, the Islamabad High Court registrar said on Thursday in response to Senator Faisal Vawda’s letter.

The registrar clarified that during the process of becoming a judge, no information regarding dual citizenship was requested. Supreme Court judge Justice Athar Minallah emphasised such a point while hearing a suo motu proceedings on judicial meddling, according to the response. The matter related to Justice Sattar holding a ‘Green Card’ was also discussed during the hearing.

The Supreme Judicial Council approved Justice Sattar’s appointment as a judge, it said and added that the high does not maintain records of discussions held in the Judicial Commission.

The high court’s press release added that Justice Sattar had informed the-then chief justice at the time that he holds a Green Card.

In April, the IHC clarified that Justice Sattar does not hold dual nationality, amid a ‘malicious’ social media campaign against him after a letter was written to the Supreme Judicial Council.

“Justice Babar Sattar has never had any nationality other than that of Pakistan,” said a press release from the Islamabad High Court.

The statement was issued after a social media campaign against the judge which the high court described as “false, malicious and contemptuous”.

As part of the 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” allegations, and details of his properties provided in his tax returns.

The campaign started against the backdrop of a letter from six IHC judges to the five members of the Supreme Judicial Council. Justice Sattar was one of the judges who signed the letter.

In the March 25 letter, they demanded that a judicial convention be summoned over the alleged intelligence agencies’ interference in the judiciary.

Earlier this week, Justice Sattar again raised the alleged interference by the security establishment in the judicial process.

In a letter to IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq, Justice Sattar claimed that he was asked to back off from the audio leaks case.

The case is in connection with the petitions filed last year by ex-premier Imran Khan’s spouse Bushra Bibi and Najam Saqib, son of former chief justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar, against alleged audio leaks.