The columnist started the Twitter argument when he lauded the former judge on his official account for being willing to take on the case of murdered journalist Arshad Sharif, who was killed by police in Kenya in October of last year after a case of "mistaken identity."
"Judge Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui's faith enabled him to defend Arshad Sharif's murder case. All the seculars, including Asma Jahangir, disapproved of him when he was a sitting judge. May Almighty Allah grant him fortitude and success,” Orya Maqbool Jan wrote on his official account.
It is worth mentioning that former Judge Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui was dismissed from the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in October 2018 on President Arif Alvi's recommendation and in accordance with the Supreme Judicial Council’s findings of misconduct in relation to his address before the Rawalpindi District Bar Association. He eventually went back to practicing law.
The former judge expressed surprise at Jan's comments and recalled that he had harshly criticized him following his July 21 speech in 2018.
Responding to the tweets of Jan, Siddiqui said that he was full of vanity and conceit as he was associated with influential groups at the time.
The former judge wrote in a series of tweets that he didn't grant him the authority to pass remarks on his faith and other affairs.
https://twitter.com/ShaukatAzizSid1/status/1627040913112326146?s=20
The former judge continued to express his rage towards the former civil servant by saying, "You would never be my choice if I have to choose between you and Asma Jahangir." Siddiqui said, "I have lived my entire life with truth. I didn't sell knowledge or rights.”
Lashing out at the columnist, the former judge said that like Jan, neither he sell his love for the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) nor change his opinion by sensing the direction of the winds. He further said that "The praise from a person like you hurts more than the criticism I receive."
He referred to the journalist as a "hypocrite" and said that he always kept his word as a judge and never engaged in mischief.
In the midst of the Twitter spat, Jan said that if he were truly honest, he would not have endorsed Mumtaz Qadri's execution for the murder of former Punjab governor Salman Taseer. He further said that the former judge should have declined to hear the case.
https://twitter.com/ShaukatAzizSid1/status/1627246691056320512?s=20
Criticizing the former judge, Jan said "You did not show as much affection to the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) as you exhibited to Nawaz Sharif," Jan slammed Siddiqui.