The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday took notice of an affidavit submitted by the former top judge of the Gilgit Appellate Court, accusing former chief justice Saqib Nisar of ‘ordering’ to keep former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz in prison till the general elections of 2018.
The notice was taken by IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah, who summoned journalist Ansar Abbasi, editor-in-chief of Jang Group Mir Shakeelur Rehman, editor Aamir Ghouri and former GB judge Rana Shamim. The court fixed the case for hearing today.
In its order, IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah said the report “appeared to undermine public confidence in the impartiality and independence of this court and its honourable judges”. He added that such a report being published at a time when the case was sub judice was the most serious form of contempt. “Likewise, the aforementioned published report, prima facie, amounts to prejudicing public confidence in the administration of justice in a pending matter besides scandalizing this Court,” it added.
The court also directed the respondents to explain “why proceedings under the Contempt of Court Ordinance, 2003, may not be initiated against them under Article 204 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973.”
Later, Chief Justice IHC Athar Minallah summoned IHC journalist association president Saqib Bashir and asked to avoid such kind of reporting. He remarked that the court always respect freedom of expression. It wouldn’t be good if the impartial judgments of this court were criticized.
Justice Minallah remarked this court expects from the association to play role in strengthening public’s trust in judiciary through quality journalism. There shouldn’t be such news on pending cases, he said.
The court later issued written order pertaining hearing regarding the remarks of ex-judge about cases of Maryam Nawaz and Nawaz Sharif. It said the registrar office draw attention toward the news item carried by English daily. The news item was related to a pending case, it added. The order said any type of trial outside the court would be an attempt to influence the court proceedings. The court summoned the above persons in person on Tuesday and directed them to explain that why not a contempt of court proceeding shouldn’t be initiated against them.
The former chief justice has vehemently denied the allegations levelled against him and called the report a “self-motivated story”. “I have never spoken to anybody or any high court judge in connection to any matter related to Mian Sahab,” he said. He added that he could only remember speaking to Shamim when he called him to offer condolences about the latter’s wife passing away. “At the time he had voiced grievances regarding his extension,” Nisar recalled, adding that Shamim could have “any motive” for making the claims.
The former chief justice reiterated that the claims were “absolutely untrue”. When asked why he had not issued a public statement on the matter, he replied: “Why should I? […] I don’t want to stoop to his level”.
An accountability court had on July 6, 2018 – 19 days before the general elections – convicted Nawaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz and her husband retired Captain Mohammad Safdar in the Avenfield Apartment reference and handed them jail terms of 10, seven and one years, respectively, for owning assets beyond known sources of income.
NAB had filed the reference regarding the high-end properties in London, along with two others, on the Supreme Court’s directives in the landmark Panamagate verdict which deseated Nawaz as the prime minister. Nawaz and Maryam were later arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on July 13, 2018 upon their arrival in Lahore from the UK.
