PBC member urges CJP to take notice of alleged video

Pakistan Bar Council says counter allegations of attempting to bribe, intimidate judge are equally serious

ISLAMABAD: A member of the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) has urged Chief Justice of Pakistan Asif Saeed Khosa to take notice of the alleged video of accountability court Judge Muhammad Arshad, wherein he stated that he was forced into convicting former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in the Al-Azizia reference.

“I propose that the PBC may consider demanding suo moto action to be taken by the Honorable Chief Justice of Pakistan and constitute a larger bench for hearing the same and the PBC should apply to join the proceedings to assist in this matter,” said PBC Executive Member Raheel Kamran Sheikh in his letter written to 23 members of the apex body of lawyers for holding an emergent meeting on this issue, which according to him is significant for the independence of judiciary.

Superior judiciary should take notice of video scandal: PM

Alternatively, Sheikh also proposed that PBC may itself file a constitution petition before the Supreme Court praying for the issuance of appropriate directions for: (i) holding, without any further loss of time, an independent and impartial inquiry/investigation into this matter, among others to ascertain genuineness or otherwise of the video of the alleged conversation of the Islamabad accountability court judge, (ii) appropriate consequential orders in case the aforementioned videotape is found to be genuine;  (iii) an order regarding live broadcast of all proceedings in these cases of public importance, in case the aforementioned videotape is found to be genuine; (iv) an appropriate legal action against the accountability court judge for any misconduct; and (v) any other relief which PBC considers appropriate to seek under the Constitution from the SC in this situation.

Sheikh believed that the events that unfolded since the subject press conference held on July 6, 2019 had put the integrity and credibility of the judicial system on trial and the same had been accused of being weak, vulnerable and amenable to control.

Unfortunately, this is not the first time the judicial system has been subjected to such serious allegations. Ironically, the public confession of Justice Nasim Hassan Shah in Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s case and leakages of audio-tapes/call recordings in Benazir Bhutto’s case had provided some cogent pieces of evidence in support of such serious allegations in the past.

“I thought both cases were of some distant past as we had travelled a long way towards ensuring independence of the judiciary, safeguarding integrity of the adjudicatory process and establishing the rule of law; however, things appeared to be not so settled when last year Justice Shaukat Siddiqui, as he then was, made shocking allegations regarding interference in the administration of justice at IHC, who was removed by the president after inquiry held by the Supreme Judicial Council under Article 209 of the Constitution for his address. Be that as it may, no adjudication under Article 184 (3), as demanded by the bar, was carried out to ascertain the level of interference, if any, in the administration of justice at IHC. Now the nation has been confronted once again with serious allegations of the verdict obtained from the accountability court judge after blackmail and coercion.”

The letter stated that the counter allegations of attempting to bribe and intimidate the judge were equally serious. Being members of the apex bar and stakeholders in the struggle to establish the rule of law, independence of the judiciary and the safe administration of justice, “we should all be concerned about what is happening and hold an urgent meeting of the council”, it added.

Meanwhile, PBC Vice Chairman Amjad Shah told The Express Tribune that action should be initiated against accountability court judge for violating efficiency and disciplinary rules.

He questioned that why the judge held a meeting with an individual like Nasir Butt.