ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice Athar Minallah of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) stated on Wednesday that the court requires a basis to examine a matter or take action, which is not possible until the appellants present proof to support their allegations.
The remark was made during a hearing on a motion to appoint an investigating committee to look into the authenticity of an audiotape supposedly involving former Pakistani Chief Justice Saqib Nisar.
The IHC had called Pakistan’s Attorney-General, Khalid Javed, to assist the court with the plea’s maintainability.
Justice Minallah questioned why the court should investigate a case in which the parties involved have not presented any audiotape before the bench.
“When there are grounds for it, a commission is created,” he remarked, asking the AGP who the court should give orders to regarding an inquiry.
AGP Javed claimed that the plea was submitted under Article 199-C of the Constitution by Salahud Din Ahmed, president of the Sindh High Court Bar Association (SHCBA), and Syed Haider Imam Rizvi, a member of the judicial commission (Sindh).
He questioned why some persons went to court to act as proxies for only one former prime minister, saying that the petitioner should not convey the idea that he or she was contesting someone else’s case.
People were sometimes unaware that they were being used, according to AGP Javed.
“Why are people only electing one prime minister and bringing their case to court through a proxy? Hundreds of thousands of individuals were fired. There was no video in their honour. It’s a proxy conflict. Today, everyone says he has two videos, but he actually has four. Judges are being harassed and pressured in this season.
“Sometimes an audio, sometimes some concocted affidavit is released,” the attorney-general said, referring to an affidavit filed by former Gilgit-Baltistan chief judge Rana Shamim, in which he accused ex-CJP Nisar of conspiring to deny bail to Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz before the general elections in 2018. Why was it not given to Bhutto if a facility was given to one PM?”
The AGP informed the court that another Prime Minister had been executed on the court’s orders. “The government of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was not reconstituted, but another was. In the past, briefcases stuffed with cash were also distributed.”
Khan argued that the petitioners should revise their petition if they intended to investigate prior incidents. “Why should we limit ourselves to 2017? Let’s look at Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s presidency “he stated AGP Javed claimed that the reason CJP Justice Sajjad Ali Shah was ousted from his job should be investigated. “To whom were the money-filled suitcases being delivered? Let us hold all those who are alive accountable.”
The AGP criticised bar groups’ behaviour, recalling how lawyers beat a district court judge in Mandi Bahauddin and chanted chants against the chief justice on court grounds elsewhere. The Chief Justice of the International Court of Justice (IHC) noted that bars have fought hard for the independence of the judiciary.
The AGP, according to the president of the SHCBA, is holding bar associations accountable in every case.
“Consider Prime Minister Imran Khan’s words towards the judiciary and judges. To divert attention, it is now argued that either do accountability for the last 70 years or don’t do anything at all.”
The petitioner claimed that various strategies were being used to make the judiciary contentious, and that the court should halt this practise by investigating the charges against judges. “This court is now hearing an appeal against a conviction in the Avenfield case. The entire judiciary has been baffled by just one appeal “Javed continued.
While recognising that people whose cases would be impacted by the supposed audiotape had not addressed the court, Ahmed stated the courts were being politicised. He noted that the judiciary might prevent this by ordering an investigation.
In today’s age of technological technology, any audio or video might be created, according to the IHC chief justice: “Anybody can make audio and call for an investigation.”
The court inquired as to what effect declaring the petition for an investigation into an audio maintainable would have on the pending appeals.
“I am also stating that a proxy war is being fought,” AG Khalid Javed responded. “Everything points to a single appeal.” He stated that he was willing to file an amended petition to seek accountability for the previous instances.
The president of the SHCBA argued that if the attorney general desired, he could seek accountability for earlier instances through the government, and questioned why current petition needed to be linked to those incidents. The affidavit matter was pending a hearing in this court, according to Salahud Din, the lawyer.
However, Justice Minallah pointed out that the affidavit case was unique in that the person involved — Rana Shamim — had contacted the court directly. “You’re unsure about the [authenticity of] the audiotape you’re talking about, aren’t you?” When there are sufficient grounds, a commission can be created.
Salahuddin Ahmed was urged to alter his petition to include such events in the past, and the attorney-general threatened to take the subject to Parliament personally.
The hearing has been postponed until December 24.
The following reported recording of Saqib Nisar, provided by FactFocus, made scathing allegations about how Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz were imprisoned in 2018:
“Saqib Nisar: Let me be straightforward about it; sadly, in this country, it is the ‘institutions’ that make the decisions. We will have to punish Mian Sahib in this scenario. “We shall bring Khan Sahib,” they say. We will have to do it, regardless of the merit, and even to his daughter.
“Other person: But his daughter, in my opinion, does not deserve a sentence.
“Saqib Nisar: I’m Saqib Nisar, and I’m a You’re entirely correct. I suggested to “friends” that something be done about it, but they were not interested.
