Threats to JIT, judges: Supreme Court to frame charges against Nehal on July 10

Declaring reply of PMLN Senator Nehal Hashmi regarding his threatening speech against judges and JIT as unsatisfactory, Supreme Court has decided to frame a charge against him on July 10. The explicit threat of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senator Hashmi to Joint Investigation Team members and judges of the apex court over interrogation of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his family members in Panama Papers case led the Supreme Court to frame a charge against him.
Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar had taken a suo motu notice over Nehal Hashmi's speech to a public gathering which went viral on social media last month in which he extended threats and warnings to those interrogating the Premier and his family in Panama Papers case. Appearing before a three-member Special Bench headed by Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan, who is also overseeing implementation of the apex court verdict in Panama Papers case, Hashmat Habib, counsel of the senator apprised the bench that his client has left the country to perform Umrah and would return on July 9, 2017.
Responding to Ejaz Afzal Khan's observation that Hashmi should have filed an application before leaving the country about his absence, Habib said that Hashmi had informed the court during proceedings of the matter in hand on June 5 about his plan to offer Umrah.
Hashmat Habib requested the bench to issue directives to the concerned branch for provision of the registrar note which is base of the suo motu in the current matter, saying Attorney General Pakistan (AGP) had supplied him the list of the channels and the transcript of the Hashmi's speech.
It is important to mention that Nehal Hashmi filed reply in the matter on June 20, urging the court to withdraw or vacate the show cause notice and order to quash criminal proceedings against him through FIR filed in Police Station Bahadurabad, District East, Karachi, and all other criminal proceedings pertaining to this case.
Nehal Hashmi also requested the court to initiate criminal proceedings against the actual culprits who distorted and doctored some pieces of his speech and transmit the same to social media and the electronic media and misguided the Supreme Court, which resulted in issuance of show cause notice.
Hashmi claimed in his reply that entire record provided to him does not attract any penal action against him because there was no act of contempt in that material, while on the other hand it reflects the conspiracy of all the persons who have doctored the speech out of context.
During the proceedings of the case on Friday, Hashmi's counsel said that the AGP, prosecutor in the current matter wrote a letter to the Sindh government upon that an FIR had been registered against his client in Karachi, adding that his life is completely miserable. Hashmat Habib requested the bench to issue directive to the concerned authorities to halt criminal proceedings against his client till final adjudication of the contempt matter.
Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan observed that the court had appointed AGP Ashtar Ausaf Ali as prosecutor in view of his stature and experience. To which Hashmat Habib pleaded if it is proved that his client had committed offence then the court can award him even capital punishment but it would be in the interest of justice if the court can stop proceedings against his client initiated under the Anti-Terrorism Act in Karachi. However, Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan plainly said that the court has nothing to do with such matter.
Later, declaring reply of Nehal Hashmi in the matter unsatisfactory the court decided to frame a charge against Hashmi in the matter on next date of hearing as the case adjourned until July 10.