Didn't declare Imran 'Sadiq and Ameen' unreservedly: ex-CJP

ISLAMABAD:

Former chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) Saqib Nisar on Monday said that he never declared Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf chief Imran Khan "completely sadiq and ameen" (truthful and honest) without a reserve in the 2017 verdict.

The former head of the apex court was referring to a controversy surrounding his tenure’s rulings that had invoked Article 62(1) (f) – a clause under which former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was disqualified in 2017 by the Supreme Court while Imran was not.

In an interview with a private news channel, Nisar shed light on the rationale behind his verdict, explaining that Imran was declared ‘sadiq and ameen’ on three points.

“Akram Sheikh had only raised three points in writing when he asked for the court to decide on Imran Khan’s case,” he maintained, “and on all three of those points, he had been proven sadiq and amen”.

It may be noted that Sheikh was the senior Supreme Court lawyer who had prosecuted former military ruler retired Gen Pervez Musharraf on treason charges and later pleaded a case seeking disqualification of the then premier Imran Khan.

“I did not declare Imran Khan completely sadiq and ameen which was then politicised,” he added, saying that his judgment was “still available for anyone to verify this”.

It may be noted that a three-judge SC bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar and comprising Justice Umar Ata Bandial and Justice Faisal Arab, December 2017 had found Imran Khan, to be honest, but disqualified PTI’s general secretary Jahangir Tareen. Abbasi had sought the disqualification of Imran and Tareen on various grounds.

In its verdict, the top court accepted Imran’s stance on the purchase of Bani Gala land as well as the establishment of his offshore company.

The decision remains one of the several controversies that have surrounded the discrepancies found in exercising quo warranto jurisdiction by the Supreme Court and high courts against lawmakers to examine their qualifications after elections.

Today, Nisar's comments come as the PTI chief faces charges of corruption in the Toshakhana case case for which a lower court has also issued non-bailable arrest warrants against him.

WhatsApp hacked

Responding to a question about whether his WhatsApp account was hacked, the former CJP responded in the affirmative and said he suspected that his data was being misused.

He expressed reservations that his data may be used to twist facts for political purposes.

“Previously many videos of mine had been stitched up to make an audio and a private channel had proven within six hours that it was fake,” he said adding that “recently after hearing such an audio, I had also [falsely] believed that it was real”.

He stressed that hacking social media accounts and retrieving data in such a manner fall under theft.

Speaking on the political turmoil that persists in the country, Nisar said that he believed the only solution to it all was elections.

“In 2018 several attempts were made to block polls which were ultimately rendered unsuccessful,” he said.

“I may have made many wrong decisions but why are those not followed which I had made for the betterment of the country?” he questioned as he maintained that the country’s biggest issues were water and clean air.

He also said that this would be his last interview and that he was working on a book that would be published posthumously where all facts will be revealed.