The Islamabad High Court (IHC) Monday gave last chance to former Gilgit-Baltistan chief justice Rana Shamim to submit an affidavit executed by him in which he alleged that former chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar had influenced a high court judge to deny bail to the top PML-N leadership before the 2018 general elections.
During the proceedings, Chief Justice Athar Minallah asked Shamim whether he had submitted the affidavit yet. Replying, Shamim sought another three weeks to submit the affidavit.
“I have given the affidavit to the lawyer and will submit it after he reviews it,” he said. At that, Justice Minallah replied, “You have served as a law officer. Don’t treat the court like this.” He further said Shamim had made “serious accusations” in the affidavit that he could not defend. “Either you move forward the process or the court will take action,” Justice Minallah warned. “This court has given you a fair chance.” The matter surfaced when an English language newspaper published a report on Shamim’s affidavit last year.
The affidavit in question alleged that ex-CJP Nisar had made a phone call to a judge of the IHC asking that former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz not be released from prison until after the 2018 elections. The court had taken notice of the news report and initiated proceedings. It indicted Shamim on January 20 but deferred framing of charges against the media personnel included in the case. Shamim later challenged his indictment in an intra-court appeal.
In today’s hearing, Shamim expressed ignorance about how that affidavit was leaked and by what means it reached the journalist for publication.
Following that, Justice Minallah pointed out that Shamim had not even sent a notice to those who had leaked the affidavit. “Did you send a notice to the newspaper that published the report about the affidavit? Did you challenge them?” he asked
In reply, Shamim told the IHC chief justice that his lawyer had stopped him from doing so. “If I am unable to get information about how the affidavit was leaked, I will send a notice to the newspaper,” he said. “If I get information about who leaked the affidavit, I will send them a notice [as well],” he added. “You now have to tell how the affidavit was leaked,” Justice Minallah said, adding “It would not be appropriate if you treat courts in such a manner.”
When it was his turn to speak, Attorney General Khalid Jawed Khan made an ironic comment, saying that Shamim was able to file an intra-court appeal [against his indictment] but could not submit the affidavit in question. The court gave Shamim the last chance to submit the affidavit by April 4 and adjourned the hearing. Application for deferral of proceedings At the hearing, a written application by Shamim’s lawyer, Latif Afridi, was moved before the IHC for deferral of case proceedings on grounds of his (Afridi’s) ill health. The application, supplemented by Afridi’s medical certificates, stated that the lawyer had not been able to submit a reply sought by the court about the affidavit on his client’s behalf as he was unwell and on bed rest. When the court had indicted Shamim, it had also sought from him a written statement about his affidavit. But Shamim failed to comply with the directive at subsequent hearings. The application sought more time for the submission of the statement.
