ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) disposed of a contempt of court petition filed against Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) leader and senior lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan for alleging that the Establishment had helped the Sharif family to get clear of the corruption cases against them.
A single bench of Chief Justice Athar Minallah on Tuesday heard a petition by Pakistan Muslim League– Nawaz (PML-N) leader Captain (retired) Muhammad Safdar, who along with his wife and PML-N vice-president Maryam Nawaz, was acquitted in the Avenfield properties reference last month.
During the hearing, the IHC chief justice remarked that this court would not seek any unnecessary explanation from anyone and said that such unnecessary things should not be given any importance. He added that contempt proceedings were not a solution in these cases.
He also remarked that if Pakistan Bar Council or any other bar had doubt about the impartiality of this court and if that was not the case, then why the court should pay attention to the irresponsible statement of anyone.
The IHC CJ further said that the verdicts of this court would eventually decide how much people trust it and this court would not seek unnecessary clarification from anyone. He added that a number of vlogs and news were run on a daily basis against this court but it had no effect on the performance of this court.
The petitioner said that the controversial statement was given by a senior lawyer who had been appearing before the courts for 40 years. But, he added that they had full trust in the judicial system of the country.
He said that the decision of this court in which the detailed judgment was still pending was criticised by Aitzaz Ahsan. He further said that the senior lawyer had given a statement against the judiciary and state institutions.
He argued that a ruling of this court was criticised while a detailed verdict has not even been released.
Justice Minallah said that the courts were known for their decisions. When Safdar’s lawyer made a reference to the Rana Shamim case, the IHC CJ asked whether the petitioner had any doubts about this court.
Safdar assured the court that he had complete trust in the IHC, as well as, the judicial system. He added that the issue is not just about his case. The statement was given by a man who has been attending courts for the past 40 years, the petitioner added.
Justice Minallah responded that no one could influence the high court if they could not do so in 2018.
The petitioner said that the court had given judgments against the “pharaohs of time” and had given bail to the Sharif family, including to Safdar himself.
The petitioner said that Talal Chaudhary and others were summoned for contempt of court, why Aitzaz is not being summoned?
The IHC bench directed Safdar not to get involved in unimportant matters and maintained that it would not ask anyone for unnecessary clarifications and disposed of the petition of the PML-N leader in this matter.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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