Nehal offers ‘unqualified apology’ to apex court

Police inform a judicial magistrate terrorism charges are being brought up against the senator

ISLAMABAD/KARACHI: As the top court fixed July 10 for indicting Senator Nehal Hashmi, the PML-N’s expelled leader on Friday offered an ‘unqualified and unconditional apology’ for his alleged hate speech against the judiciary and Joint Investigation Team (JIT) probing offshore businesses of the ruling family.

Hashmi on May 28 delivered a fiery speech at a private function and threatened to make miserable lives of the people who ‘have held the Sharif family accountable’.

The Supreme Court had taken suo motu notice of his speech while the ruling PML-N had suspended his party membership and asked him to resign from the Senate.

Hashmi, however, had retracted his resignation days after submitting it before the Senate chairman – a move condemned by the ruling party which later expelled him for violating the party discipline.

Earlier, the Supreme Court’s three-judge bench, overseeing the Panamagate JIT’s proceedings, on June 22 expressed dissatisfaction over Hashmi’s reply to its show-cause notice as the senator had not shown any regret or remorse for delivering the hate speech.



But on Friday Hashmi, through his counsel Hashmit Habib, moved a fresh application, offering an unconditional apology, ‘if the bench points out any of his fault’.

The application claims that Hashmi is an innocent law-abiding citizen, a member of the Senate of Pakistan and a senior lawyer and thus cannot even imagine committing any act intentionally or willfully which could be taken as against the judiciary.

“I say during 30 years of legal practice on entering courtroom, the Answering Respondent always paid respect by bowing before the courts.  As a lawyer saying sorry before court is honour itself, therefore, if this Honourable Court points out any fault I will tender unqualified and unconditional apology forthwith in the honour of Bench and Bar,” it says.

The application says contempt proceedings in view of Criminal Original Petition No. 62/2014 may be commenced as ‘all are equal before the law’. “All persons responsible for committing fitna be punished accordingly,” Nihal requested the SC.

It says from the bare reading of registrar’s note, it appeared that the note did not contain any allegation of threat against the judges of Supreme Court, their families, members of JIT and their families.

 



“While the apprehension of the Registrar is that Nehal Hashmi uttered threatening words for all those requiring Hussain Nawaz and others to account for their assets, these observation made by Registrar on being influenced by the transcript of speech appended with note, although, prima facie, it does not attract any provision of Contempt of Court Ordinance 2003 or Article 204 of the Constitution,” it says.

Meanwhile, police on Friday informed a judicial magistrate hearing a case against Hashmi’s controversial speech that terrorism charges were brought up against the senator during probe into his alleged threat to the judiciary and the public servants.

The investigation officer, Inspector Khursheed Ahmed Rind, moved in the court a report stating that the charge sheet of the case was being submitted to the anti-terrorism courts’ administrative judge as sections 6 and 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1999 were added into the case.

On previous hearing, the court had asked police to submit the charge sheet against the senator by July 7. Earlier, a lawyer had moved an application before the District and Sessions Judge, East under section 22-A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 seeking inclusion of terrorism charges in the FIR.