The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday set January 7, 2022, as the date for framing charges against former Gilgit-Baltistan chief justice Rana Shamim and others in a case related to an investigative report highlighting an affidavit attributed to the ex-judge in which he accused former jurist Mian Saqib Nisar of colluding to deny bails to PML-N leadership prior to the 2018 elections.
During the hearing today, Shamim opened his original affidavit — submitted earlier in Dec, more than a month after it was mentioned in a report published in an English daily — on the court’s instructions.
Justice Minallah asked Shamim if the document was the former judge’s affidavit and whether he had sealed it himself to which Shamim replied in the affirmative.
Justice Minallah also directed that copies of the affidavit be provided to Attorney General Khalid Jawed Khan.
The IHC had earlier directed the former judge to submit his original affidavit in three previous hearings, warning that charges would be framed if the maker of the affidavit, Shamim, the publisher and editor-in-chief of Jang Group, senior journalist Ansar Abbasi and resident editor Amer Ghouri failed to show it was executed and published for bona fide purpose.
In the ‘leaked’ affidavit, on which Ansar Abbasi’s report was based, Shamim allegedly stated that Nisar, during his visit to GB, made a call to an IHC judge and asked him to ensure that former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz were not released on bail before July 25, 2018 general elections.
The affidavit was published as part of an investigative report by The News on Nov 15.
Justice Minallah had subsequently taken notice of the report and later issued show-cause notices to Abbasi, Rehman, Ghouri as well as Shamim under the Contempt of Court Ordinance.
During the hearing today, the IHC chief justice observed that Shamim’s written response submitted to the court had “laid the entire blame” on journalist Ansar Abbasi, recalling that the former jurist had also maintained that he had not shared the affidavit with anyone.
He added that in similar circumstances, courts in the United Kingdom asked journalists to disclose their sources but the IHC would not do so.
“The judge [mentioned in] the affidavit was on leave at the time.Attempts were also made to cast doubt on the two judges on the bench,” Justice Minallah said.
