ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday postponed indictment in the contempt of court case against former Gilgit-Baltistan chief justice Rana Shamim, Jang Group owner Mir Shakeelur Rehman and senior journalists Ansar Abbasi and Aamir Ghauri till January 20.
The IHC had in the last hearing decided to indict the former GB chief judge and others in a contempt of court case pertaining to the publication of an affidavit containing serious allegations that ex-chief justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar attempted to influence a case against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter, Maryam Nawaz.
During the proceeding held today, IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah gave Shamim and the others time until the next hearing on January 20 to “reflect” on the matter, saying “acceptance of mistake in front of the court increases honour.”
He also rejected Attorney General Khalid Jawed Khan’s request to allow Rehman — who tested positive for coronavirus — to attend court proceedings via video link and said he would need to be present in court for the indictment.
At the outset of today’s proceedings, Minallah told journalist Ansar Abbasi that the court had received his plea of a clerical error in the order. “Tell me, what clerical error is there in the order?” he asked.
The journalist told the IHC CJ that in the order, the court had quoted him as saying that even if a claim was wrong, he would publish it in the interest of the masses.
Responding to the journalist, the IHC CJ said: “In your application, you yourself had written that you were not aware whether his (Shamim’s) claim against Nisar was true or not.” The judge asked Abbasi whether he would publish an affidavit solely on the basis of a prominent personality handing it to him.
“Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani, Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb and I were part of that bench […] and [in light of the news story], it seems like we had been influenced,” he said, adding, “If an inquiry is held, it will take place against the judges who were part of the bench”.
The IHC CJ told Abbasi that throughout the entire proceedings, he had tried to explain to the journalist what he had done. “Take a look at past newspapers and see what you have published,” he added.
Subsequently, the IHC adjourned the hearing due to Mir Shakeel-ur-Rehman’s absence as he is currently under quarantine due to Covid-19.
