Bar councils oppose Justice Azmat's appointment as head of Broadsheet inquiry
Former SC judge Azmat Saeed. PHOTO: FILE
Pakistan Bar Council Vice Chairman Khushdil Khan and Supreme Court Bar Association President Abdul Latif Afridi expressed their reservations on Thursday regarding the appointment of Justice (retd) Azmat Saeed Sheikh as the head of the Broadsheet scandal inquiry.
In a statement, the two lawyers maintained that the conflict may serve to negate the retired judge's neutrality in the matter since he was an active member of the Supreme Court bench hearing the Panama case and had previously also held the office of NAB Deputy Prosecutor General at the time of the Broadsheet agreement during General Pervez Musharaf’s term.
Khan and Afridi also expressed their concern over the inordinate delay in hearing and disposal of the foreign funding case of the elected Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI), that has been pending before the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for six years now.
The lawyers' associations' representatives have demanded that the ECP should take a decision regarding the case without any further delay.
Addressing the media a day ago, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz called upon former Supreme Court judge Justice Azmat Saeed Sheikh to "recuse" himself from the Broadsheet inquiry commission, warning that her party would otherwise reveal details about his past affiliations.
"Broadsheet is a fraudsheet," said she, while addressing the media after arriving at 'Khokhar Palace' to express solidarity with the Khokhar family following the demolition of their property.
Two days ago, the federal capital had announced appointing the former Supreme Court judge as head of the one-man commission to examine the circumstances relating to the Broadsheet agreement and subsequent arbitration proceedings that resulted in substantial loss to the national exchequer.
Justice (retd) Saeed had heard numerous high-profile cases in the past including the one related to the Panama Papers leaks that led to the disqualification of the then prime minister Nawaz Sharif as member of the National Assembly.