Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa on Tuesday stated that the Supreme Court will announce its verdict on petitions regarding judge Arshad Malik’s video scandal in two-three days, a private TV channel reported.
A three-member bench, headed by the chief justice, heard the case, with Director General (DG) FIA Bashir Memon and Attorney General Anwar Mansoor Khan also present in the court.
During the proceedings, the attorney general informed the court that Judge Arshad Malik was posted to the accountability court on March 13, 2018. The chief justice then asked if the person who had appointed the judge had come forward, to which the attorney general responded in the negative. The chief justice then remarked that Nasir Janjua had claimed that he had got appointed Judge Arshad Malik. Further, the chief justice said this meant that after the Panama Papers verdict, the government at the time had appointed the judge.
Justice Azmat Saeed asked if a forensic audit of the video shown in the press conference can be conducted. To this, DG FIA replied that they do not have the video. Expressing anger, Justice Saeed then remarked that apart from FIA, this video is available to the entire country, and people in Pakistan and the court are asking if the video is real. The DG FIA then informed the court that a forensic audit of the video has not been carried out, assuring the apex court that it will be done.
Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa remarked that three weeks were given to complete the investigation and the report was regarding two videos – one which was used to blackmail the judge and the other which was shown in the press conference. The chief justice inquired whether a petition has been filed in court to obtain any legal benefit, to which the attorney general said no petition has been filed.
The chief justice remarked that the video will be of use for the release of Nawaz Sharif when a petition is filed. He added that it remains to be seen if a forensic audit can be carried out on a copy of the video and if this is also possible for a YouTube video.
Justice Umar Atta Bandial remarked that those who had made this story were now disassociating themselves from it. The chief justice added that if this video is proven to be real, it will be quite effective. He said that Judge Arshad Malik has a past and he can be blackmailed by anyone.
The attorney general said that it will be difficult to prove this video to be authentic, to which the chief justice remarked that even the judge has confessed to the objectionable video, but how will the authenticity of the video shown in the press conference be proven.
The FIA’s report was presented in the court which also included statements of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders Maryam Nawaz and Shehbaz Sharif. The DG FIA informed the court that when Maryam Nawaz was asked where she received this video from, her response was that she did not know who made the video and that she received it from a worker. She added that the video was on a phone which did not have a SIM card.
The top judge also asked why Judge Arshad Malik had not been relieved of his duties and sent back to Lahore until now, stating, “By not sending Arshad Malik to Lahore, [he] is being provided protection.” The attorney general said that Malik has been stopped from leaving due to the ongoing investigation. “What kind of a judge visits a person he has convicted? The judge’s behaviour has caused shame to all [other] judges,” Justice Khosa said. “Why are you taking this matter lightly? The judge himself is admitting he had connections with that family. We can look into the matter, as far as his [Malik’s] character is concerned. You [the AG] investigate if a forensic examination of the video can be carried out,” Justice Khosa said.
