ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry detached himself from the three member bench hearing the suo moto case against his son Dr Arslan Iftikhar in the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
“I have faith in the Supreme Court judges,” Chief Justice remarked.
Attorney General Irfan Qadir, addressing the chief justice during proceedings had again argued that he could not be part of a bench hearing his own son’s case.
The Supreme Court has ordered the formation of a bench to hear the case. This bench will not include Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.
Geo News Chief Executive along with senior anchor Kamran Khan who had been summoned on Wednesday, also appeared before the apex court. Kamran Khan described details of the documents he had seen pertaining to the case. He said that he had seen the record of Arsalan Iftikhar’s travel details including the copy of his passport and receipts.
According to Karman Khan these documents were shown to him by Malik Riaz, however he was not provided with any copies. Elaborating further, Kamran Khan said Malik Raiz told him that these documents were also shown to Aitzaz Ahsan.
After a brief break, the two member bench of the Supreme Court comprising of Justice Jawaad Khawaj and Justice Khilji Arif resumed hearing of the case.
The counsel for Malik Riaz, Zahid Bukhari requested that a larger bench be formed to hear the case. The bench directed Bukhari to inform his client not to conduct a media campaign.
Attorney General Irfan Qadir during proceedings said that Arsalan Iftikhar was not the son of the Supreme Court; however his proceedings should be fair.
The Supreme Court has directed Malik Riaz and Arsalan Iftikhar to submit their detailed response within two days. The court has also summoned the tax returns of Malik Riaz along with details of his assets.
The hearing of the case has been adjourned till June 11.
Earlier on Wednesday, Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry said that anyone who had conspired to malign the judiciary would not be spared, adding that his son Dr Arsalan Chaudhry will be punished if he will be found guilty.
Dr Arsalan has, meanwhile, denied the allegations of corruption that have circulated in the media in recent days.