Abbasi seeks suo motu on denial of bail to Maryam, Nawaz
Observer Report Islamabad
Reacting to a report about the alleged involvement of former chief justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar in denying bail to former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz ahead of the 2018 general elections, PML-N leader Shahid Khaqab Abbasi demanded that a suo motu notice be taken of the matter and questioned: “If Mian Nawaz Sharif can go to jail, why can’t Mian Saqib Nisar?”
He posed the question during a press conference alongside other PML-N leaders, saying the Supreme Court should take suo motu notice of the matter now that fingers had been pointed at a former top judge in the report.
His comments came after an investigative report, published in an English newspaper, quoted the former top judge of Gilgit-Baltistan, Rana Shamim, as saying in an alleged affidavit that he had witnessed Nasir relaying instructions to a high court judge to not release the father-daughter duo in the corruption references against them.
“If Rana Shamim is lying, he should be given stringent punishment, but if he is speaking the truth, then justice Saqib Nisar’s place is in jail,” Abbasi remarked at the press conference.
Sharing the contents of the alleged affidavit, he said Shamim had divulged details under oath about Nisar instructing his registrar to contact an Islamabad High Court judge and ensure that Nawaz and Maryam were not granted bail before the 2018 elections.
“He (Shamim) has not given this statement under any pressure and when he was asked about this on camera, he confirmed that he had given this statement under oath,” Abbasi noted.
Saying that it was important to inform the people of Pakistan about the background of the matter, the PML-N leader alleged that the “Supreme Court had acted like a trial court” in the past and disqualified Nawaz over a matter pertaining to his iqama (work permit o f the United Arab Emirates).
