ISLAMABAD – The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday issued show-cause notices to former chief judge of Gilgit-Baltistan Rana Mohammad Shamim, senior journalist Ansar Abbasi and others after a report published in local newspaper revealed that former chief justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar had instructed a judge to not grant bail to Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz before general election 2018.
The court has directed all the respondents to submit their replies within seven days and adjourned the hearing till November 26.
A day earlier, IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah took notice of the report, which claimed that Nisar made judicial interference in order to keep the PML-N leadership in the jail following their conviction in Avenfield graft reference.
Rana Shamim did not appear before the court due to illness. However, his son attended the hearing on behalf of his father.
During the proceedings, the IHC chief justice said that he had full confidence in every judge of this court. He said that judges were also subject to accountability and observed that citizen had a right to criticise them.
The chief justice also grilled senior journalist Ansar Abbasi over his investigative story on the base of a Shamim’s affidavit notraised by Charles D. Guthrie, a London-based solicitor.
The date Justice Shamim is talking about in affidavit, Justice Farooqui and I were away on a vacation. How could we be on a vacation and in the bench to hear a case at the same time? questioned the IHC CJ.
Both Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz were convicted by an accountability court in a corruption reference before the July 25, 2018 general elections. Their lawyers had approached court for suspension of the conviction but their case, after initial hearings, was adjourned till last week of July.
The verdict was announced days before the 2018 general elections held on July 25, later that month. Subsequently, all three had appealed the verdict in the IHC that suspended their sentences on on September 19, 2018 until the final judgement.
Former top judge Saqib Nisar in his statement termed the allegation as “white lies”. He also accused Shamim of embroiling him the controversy for not denying him extension as the chief justice of Gilgit-Baltistan.
Nisar said that he would respond to the baseless allegations.
Meanwhile, former chief justice GB apex court Rana Shamim sticks to his claims. He said that former CJP Saqib Nisar had no authority to extend his tenure.
