NAB court judge barred till further notice: minister

Ag APP

ISLAMABAD: The federal government on Friday “barred” Accountability Court Judge Arshad Malik from working as a judge on the request of the Islamabad High Court (IHC), as the video scandal saga takes yet another turn.

In a news conference on Friday, Minister for Law and Justice Barrister Farogh Naseem confirmed that IHC Acting Chief Justice Aamer Farooq wrote to the Ministry of Law and Justice asking for the accountability court judge to “hand over his services to the parent department”.

Naseem told reporters that after receiving the letter from the Islamabad High Court, the Law Division “barred judge Arshad Malik from working as judge till further orders” of the relevant quarters.

The latest development comes a week after Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz’s explosive press conference in which she, along with the upper echelons of the party, released a video purporting to show the judge reportedly admitting to being pressured to convict former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills case.

The law minister, in his Friday presser, stressed that any video leak or affidavit cannot quash the accountability court’s verdict against the Sharif family “until the convicts provide a money trail to the court of law”.

The minister categorically said: “No one can deny the existence of the Avenfield apartments. Moreover, the merits of the case cannot be changed. However, if anyone has concerns, they should approach the appellate court and prove his [Nawaz Sharif] innocence.”

It was not clear why Naseem was mentioning the Avenfield apartments, when that was a separate case which was overseen by another accountability court judge. Sharif was convicted in that reference too, as were Maryam Nawaz and her husband Capt (retd) Safdar.

The law minister also mentioned an affidavit Judge Malik submitted to the Islamabad High Court. “Judge Arshad Malik said in his affidavit that he gave a free and fair judgment on merit and if he wanted to pass judgment under pressure or because of blackmail, he would not acquit members of the Sharif family in one case and convicted them in another case,” Naseem said.

The minister said according to Malik’s affidavit, a member of the Sharif family allegedly offered the judge a substantial bribe and settlement abroad, and in case of his refusal, threatened him.

“If anyone tries to obstruct the court’s proceedings or intimidates the judiciary, under Section 31-A of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Ordinance, and PrPC, 10 years imprisonment could be awarded to the accused,” he warned. Neither the law ministry nor the Prime Minister’s office could acquit Nawaz Sharif as he had been convicted by following due process of law and only a court of law could free him if he would provide money trail of his property. “However, no one will be allowed to coerce the judiciary,” the law minister maintained.

Naseem said: “The government will stand by the judiciary, and will not victimise anyone or take sides — but it will not tolerate manipulating the judiciary.” He also stressed the Al-Azizia case was not opened under the PTI government.

He also said the NAB could not do anything regarding sentences in NAB’s references and the sentence could not be immediately suspended, extended or changed in any way until the Islamabad High Court took a decision on whether the judgment was issued under pressure.

Later, the Supreme Court took up the case and was fixed for hearing by a three-judge bench led by Chief Justice of Pakistan Asif Saeed Khan Khosa on July 16. The court issued notices to Maryam Nawaz, former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Raja Zafarul Haq, and others.

The Supreme Court took up the case on a petition submitted by a citizen named Ishtiaq Ahmed, who appealed to the court for an independent judicial inquiry of the video scandal.