Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has decided to indict former chief justice of Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) Rana Shamim along with other accused in the contempt of court case on January 7.
The high court had initiated proceedings against Shamim, investigative reporter Ansar Abbasi, editor-in-chief of a national daily, and its resident editor after an affidavit was published in the newspaper that accused former chief justice Saqib Nisar of influencing the case against ex-PM Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz. During the hearing, IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah said the court initiated the proceedings in the case because an impression was being given that the court had been compromised. “This court is presenting itself for self-accountability,” he added.
The IHC CJ said he couldn’t comment on things happening outside the high court but he was only concerned with the IHC. At the outset of the hearing, the original affidavit was presented to the CJ. Justice Minallah said Rana Shamim was told to produce the original affidavit in the court not send it to the IHC CJ. “I thought as the affidavit belonged to Shamim so he should be the one to open it,” Justice Minallah added.
At this, Shamim’s counsel Latif Afridi said the IHC CJ asked for it so he should be the one to open the document. Shamim, however, opened the packet containing the affidavit and confirmed its contents. Attorney General Khalid Jawed Khan said the former G-B judge had said that his affidavit was sealed but this parcel didn’t contain any seal, but just a stamp of the courier. AGP Khan said as per Shamim he had given the affidavit to his grandson in a sealed envelope.
Shamim responded in affirmative, saying he gave the document in a white sealed envelope to his grandson in London. The affidavit was later sealed by the IHC registrar at the request of the CJ. AGP Khan, however, requested the court to provide a copy of the document. Justice Minallah said Shamim blamed Ansar Abbasi, the reporter who broke the story, for leaking the document.
