• PML-N demands parliamentary probe into ex-CJP’s role in denial of bail to former PM, Maryam
• PTI terms episode another attempt to drag judiciary, armed forces into controversy

ISLAMABAD: The surfacing of a notarised affidavit of former chief judge of the apex court of Gilgit-Baltistan Rana Mohammad Shamim regarding the alleged role of former chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) Saqib Nisar in the denial of bail to Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz in corruption cases sparked a political storm in the country, bringing the main opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) face to face once again over the issue of the transparency of the 2018 elections and prompting the Islamabad High Court to take a suo motu notice.

The issue also came up under heated discussion in the National Assembly and Senate when the two houses went into session on Monday evening after a two-day recess.

PML-N president and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif in a tweet said the news report about the judge’s affidavit was “another vindication of Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz in the court of public opinion”.

“(The) explosive news story peels off a thick layer of a grand scheme employed to target Nawaz Sharif & Maryam Nawaz. Allah has His own way of revealing the truth,” he tweeted.

Uploading the affidavit of Justice Shamim on her social media account on Twitter, PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz said: “One should fear from a person who remains patient and has left his case to Allah. There is a big lesson for oppressors in it.”

Minister for Information Fawad Chaudhry in a tweet ridiculed the news report about the affidavit, saying that “strange jokes are being circulated in the country to prove Nawaz Sharif a victim”. He said it was a “ludicrous claim that a judge having tea, sitting in front of the phone and issuing such instructions in front of a visitor whether to take the bail of an accused or not and the accused was not a common man either”.

In the National Assembly, the treasury and opposition members exchanged heated arguments following the PML-N’s demand that parliament must probe the incident which, according to it, had eroded the sanctity and credibility of the constitutional institutions, including parliament and the judiciary.

The PML-N claims that the disclosure by the former top GB judge that ex-CJP Saqib Nisar had allegedly influenced the proceedings of the IHC, which was hearing the bail petitions of Mr Sharif and his daughter, has endorsed their stance that the 2018 general elections were massively rigged through the interference of other institutions and that Mr Sharif had been kept in jail only to facilitate Imran Khan’s victory.

The PTI, on the other hand, termed the whole episode another attempt by the PML-N to drag the country’s judiciary and the armed forces into controversy for political gains.

Justice Nisar terms affidavit ‘baseless’

When contacted by Dawn, Justice Saqib Nisar termed the affidavit “baseless” and denied that he had called the IHC judge for not allowing the bails of Mr Sharif and his daughter.

“There is not even an iota of truth in the information which is falsely attributed to me,” said the former CJP. He, however, did not show any intention to file a defamation suit against the former GB judge, saying that taking a decision at this point of time might be premature “as everyone knows it as a lie”.

He refused to comment on the contempt proceedings initiated by the IHC chief justice against the former GB judge and the journalist and the media house which had published the report about the affidavit and simply said that he had a confidence in the judicial proceedings.

PML-N seeks investigation

PML-N’s senior vice president Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and party’s parliamentary leader in the National Assembly Khawaja Asif during a news conference called for a thorough investigation into the matter and asked the Supreme Court to take a suo motu notice as it had put a question mark on the independence and credibility of the judiciary itself.

“If Rana Shamim is telling a lie then he must be given worst punishment and if he is speaking the truth then Saqib Nisar deserves to be in jail. If Nawaz Sharif can go to jail, then why not Saqib Nisar,” declared Mr Abbasi while showing the copy of the affidavit to the media.

Mr Abbasi, who served as the country’s prime minister after the conviction of Nawaz Sharif in 2017 in the Avenfield apartments case, said it was not a matter of the conviction of the country’s thrice elected prime minister, but it had proved that the election process was interfered. He said his party had been repeatedly saying that “unconstitutional interference” was taking place in the country’s political system.

Mr Abbasi said they had reasons to believe that Rana Shamim was speaking the truth. “Which is the forum where the truth can be determined? Is there anyone who can take notice of the interference in the country’s judicial affairs and elections?” he asked, adding that there was need to thoroughly probe whether the former CJP had interfered in the elections. He said only three persons — Rana Shamim, Saqib Nisar and Justice Amir Farooq — knew the truth.

Speaking on the occasion, Khawaja Asif regretted that the judiciary at the highest level had been compromised. “There has been a question mark on all the constitutional institutions. A former chief justice and a sitting IHC judge seemed to be involved [in the affair],” he said.

According to Mr Asif, fresh elections and setting up of new institutions under a new government were the only solution to the present crisis. “Imran Khan has become politically, morally, legally and constitutionally bankrupt. Besides him, all the constitutional institutions have also become bankrupt,” said the PML-N stalwart from Sialkot. He said the credibility of the judiciary and its decisions had been badly shattered.

Later, speaking in the National Assembly, Khawaja Asif demanded that parliament must take action on the matter. He reminded the house that there were examples in the world where parliaments had summoned the judges.

Responding to Mr Asif’s statement, Communications Minister Murad Saeed alleged that the PML-N always created a false narrative to mislead the nation ahead of its vice president Maryam Nawaz’s hearing in corruption references. He said a conspiracy had been hatched against the judiciary as the case of Ms Nawaz was fixed for hearing before the court on Wednesday (tomorrow).

The minister said the medical reports of Mr Sharif sent to the government from the UK were notarised by Charles Draston who had notarised Rana Shamim’s affidavit.

At a news conference, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry alleged that attacking judiciary, hurling accusations at judges and making videos to blackmail them were the despicable history of the PML-N. He said the press conference of Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Khawaja Asif, after the IHC chief justice’s suo motu notice, was an attempt to scandalise the judiciary. He urged the IHC to summon both the PML-N leaders during the suo motu proceedings.

The controversy also came up under discussion in the Senate where PML-N’s Azam Nazir Tarar raised the matter while speaking on a point of order. He said the disclosure by a judge on the tactics used to influence the cases raised serious questions over impartiality of institutions and transparency of the judicial system.

He called for formation of an independent commission to probe the matter. “How long this game will be played with the politicians?” he asked and pointed out that there were many instances regarding the removal of elected prime ministers through judicial orders.

The opposition also staged a token walkout from the house over the issue.

PTI’s Ijaz Chaudhry in his harsh retort questioned the credentials of the judge who had made the claim about the former CJP. He said the man had been appointed as chief judge of GB by Nawaz Sharif.

Leader of the House in the Senate Dr Shahzad Wasim chided the PML-N for “disrespecting parliament and courts” in the past. “We will not only expose you but also respond to your false allegations,” he said.

Malik Asad and Iftikhar A. Khan also contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, November 16th, 2021