Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: Former accountability judge Muhammad Arshad Malik, who had handed a verdict against former premier Nawaz Sharif in the Al-Azizia Still Mills case, succumbed to the coronavirus on Friday.
He had been under treatment at a private hospital in Islamabad for the past few weeks. On August 6, the Lahore High Court (LHC) had issued a notification regarding removal from service of Arshad Malik who, being the judge of the Islamabad accountability court, had convicted former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) Al-Azizia reference and acquitted him in Flagship reference.
The LHC’s administration committee led by Chief Justice Mohammad Qasim Khan had on July 3 approved his removal after an inquiry conducted by a judge of the high court had found him guilty of professional misconduct.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) had accused Malik of convicting Sharif in Al-Azizia reference under duress.
Addressing a press conference alongside top PML-N leadership on July 6, 2019, Maryam Nawaz had shown reporters a video in which Arshad Malik was heard saying that there was “no proof of corruption against the deposed premier” in the Al-Azizia reference.
Malik, however, had denied Maryam Nawaz’s allegations that the judge was blackmailed into convicting Nawaz without any evidence.
