Islamabad, Jun 1 (PTI) Pakistan's law minister Farogh Naseem on Monday resigned to defend the government in the Supreme Court in a case against Justice Qazi Faez Isa.

Naseem, who belong to Karachi, will appear on behalf of the government that last year filed a case in the apex court against Justice Isa, asking it to sack him for hiding the offshore companies owned by his wife and children.

Also Read | Avifavir, COVID-19 Drug That Russia Claims to be 'Game Changer', to be Rolled Out Next Week.

The former law minister said that he stepped down on the "request of the prime minister of Pakistan" and "I'll represent the federation in the case and therefore I have tendered my resignation as the law minister."

Isa is considered as an independent-minded judge who criticised the security establishment in the judgment of a case pertaining to the lockdown of Islamabad by a hardline cleric in 2017.

Also Read | Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray Holds Discussion With Amit Shah Through Video Conference Over Cyclone Nisarga: Live Breaking News Headlines & Coronavirus Updates, June 1, 2020.

Naseem was appointed as the law minister after he was elected in the 2018 general elections. It is for the second time that he resigned to represent the government in the Supreme Court.

Earlier, he resigned in November last year to represent the government in a case about the extension of Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa.

The case was settled after the government committed before the court to enact laws to address the issue of extension and later Naseem rejoined the Cabinet as the law minister.

A sitting minister cannot practice as a lawyer according to rules.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)