The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday deferred the indictment of Rana Shamim, former top judge of Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) chief court, Mir Shakilur Rahman, the owner of Jang Group of Publications and The News, and journalists Ansar Abbasi and Amir Ghauri in the contempt of court case until January 20 due to the absence of Mir Shakil because of quarantine, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

During the hearing, Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Khalid Jawed Khan prayed to the court to indict Shamim, assuring that he would have a fair trial. 

However, the AGP requested the court to defer the indictment of journalists, saying they would sit in the court and listen to the hearing. 

Chief Justice (CJ) Athar Minallah remarked that it was unfortunate that in order to eliminate the trust of people in the judiciary, some elements formed a ‘political narrative’. “Will anybody tell me which of this court’s decision created an impression that it had made a ‘compromise’ on the canons of justice?” he commented.

He went on to say for a court, the rights of litigants are of extreme importance. “The narrative under review is that former chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Saqib Nisar had pressured a judge to deny bails to former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz. “The allegation was levelled despite the fact that that judge was not on the bench hearing the case,” the CJ regretted. 

Justice Minallah further said he was not concerned whether somebody criticized. “It makes no difference to me,” he said categorically, and added the only worry was the narrative that created an impression that some other people formed benches to hear the cases pertaining to Nawaz Sharif family. “I have already made it clear that nobody had access to judges even then and not even now,” he asserted. 

The AGP said that there was no bar on media to say something about the country’s politics. “But it should at least stay away from attacking the judiciary. After all, the judges cannot give their opinions. They cannot address pressers,” he opined.

He further said the ‘political narrative’ the IHC was referring to was shaped up by the Jang Group. 

It was the headline of The News, English daily of the Group, “Rana Shamim’s revelation’.

Abdul Latif Afridi, counsel for the defendants, prayed to the court not to indict his clients in a contempt of court case. 

Speaking on the occasion, Ansar Abbasi, Head of Investigation at The News, said he would not have filed the story had it not been the matter of an affidavit.         

Abdul Latif Afridi, counsel for Shamim,  prayed to the court not to indict his clients in a contempt of court case. “I know Ansar for a long time now. He tries to tell people the truth,” he argued.

Reporter Ihtesham Kiani