Affidavit case: Islamabad High Court indicts ex-GB judge Rana Shamim

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday indicted former Gilgit-Baltistan chief justice Rana Shamim in contempt of court case.

The court, however, deferred the framing of charges against journalist Ansar Abbasi and Jang Group owner Mir Shakeelur Rehman.

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In a ‘leaked’ affidavit, dated November 10, 2021, Shamim had allegedly stated that the former chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) Saqib Nisar during his visit to G-B made a call to an IHC judge and asked him to ensure that Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz were not granted bails before the general elections in 2018.

IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah took notice of the report and initiated contempt proceedings as Nawaz and Maryam’s case was being heard in the high court.

Journalist Abbasi and Jang Group owner Rehman also appeared before the court today, and during the hearing, Justice Minallah deferred indictment proceedings against them till February.

IHC CJ called Shamim to the rostrum, where the ex-GB judge told the court that he had filed two new petitions. To this, Justice Minallah said, “We will first indict you, then hear your pleas.”

“The court had already given the orders to indict you (Shamim) today,” he added.

The former G-B chief justice told Justice Minallah that his lawyers were on their way to the court, over which the IHC adjourned the hearing for a short period.

After joining the hearing, Shamim’s lawyer pleaded with the court to give additional time in the contempt of court case and requested IHC to order an indiscriminate inquiry into the affidavit.

The IHC judge remarked that serious allegations were levelled in the document.

“You tell us if anyone is facing any problem with this court,” Justice Minallah questioned and added, “This court believes in open accountability.”

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Meanwhile, the court rejected appeals about disqualification of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders and to stop the character assassination of Shamim. The IHC also turned down the intra-court pleas of Rana Shamim’s daughter-in-law and grandchildren.