No relief for Nawaz unless IHC rules in his favour: CJP

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan Asif Saeed Khosa remarked on Tuesday that the Supreme Court could provide no relief to former prime minister Nawaz Sharif unless the Islamabad High Court (IHC) ruled in his favour.

The apex court wondered as to why no one from the Sharif family approached the high court to seek relief for the deposed premier from his conviction. The three-judge bench headed by the CJP and comprising Sheikh Azmat and Justice Umar was hearing the petitions seeking probe into the leaked video case involving accountability court judge Arshad Malik.

It was strange that those PML-N] interested in the release of Nawaz had not yet approached the IHC because that was the only real forum to get relief, the CJP remarked.

He remarked the leaked video scandal along with the alleged misconduct of the accountability court judge would not go unattended. “However, we are not in a hurry; we don’t want a prejudiced trial,” he added. The high court too had the authority to probe the matter, CJP Khosa said, adding the IHC could launch an investigation through an appellate forum or through its constitutional authority under Article 203 wherein it supervised affairs of the accountability court.

Attorney General Anwar Mansoor Khan, deliberating on the matter, recommended that the SC should leave the matter at the discretion of the IHC.

However, another member of the bench, Justice Umar Ata Bandial, said they had to establish the truth. “We are looking for remedy for those who are aggrieved. We want to protect integrity of institution. We are not just examining the allegations of complainant,” he added.