Chief Justice M Bilal Khan of Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday submitted his reply to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) to the allegations levelled against him about his alleged links with underworld mafia. Prior to his elevation as Chief Justice of the ICH the report, regarding his alleged links with the underworld, was sent to the Lahore High Court (LHC) Chief Justice for appropriate action.
The LHC Chief Justice was formally informed by Punjab police of extremely serious allegations made in his recorded statement against Justice Bilal by a notorious wanted don, Faiz Rasool alias Nanno Goraya, who was killed in a police encounter on January 17, 2009.
His death was celebrated by people of Gujranwala who showered flowers on police for eliminating "a deadly criminal". In his eight-page reply, Justice Bilal confirmed that the SJC Secretary had sent him press clippings, along with audio and video CDs of the allegations levelled against him.
He said the publications were false and a crude and abhorrent attempt to malign him and scandalise the superior judiciary at a time when he was being considered for appointment as IHC Chief Justice. He said the backdrop of events in which the publications came into being had to be kept in view, as he was the member of the Lahore High Court (LHC) bench which had disqualified the Sharif brothers from electoral politics on June 23, 2008.
Just after the decision, he said, the Sharif brothers had made speeches against him in public gatherings and on the television channels in which they maligned him. On different occasions, he said, Nawaz Sharif had said that he would see Justice Bilal and would throw him in the ocean, whereas Shahbaz Sharif hurled abuses at him (Justice Bilal) in his public meetings in Gujranwala and in TV interviews.
He said that Zulfiqar Cheema, who was second actor in the episode, played a role of henchman of the Sharif brothers and tended to go to any lengths to please his bosses and, as a reward, he was given the coveted assignment of Regional Police Officer (RPO) and City Police Officer of Gujranwala, simultaneously, despite that he was not qualified to hold the office of RPO, under Police Order 2002.
He said he was heading a full bench of the LHC on the issue of law and order situation, which had held that many police officers, including Zulfiqar Cheema, had been posted in the Punjab province to the positions for which they did not qualify. He said the allegations levelled against him by Cheema that he had links with underworld mafia and was protecting them were highly malicious and a bundle of lies.