Pakistan law ministry yet to comply with Islamabad High Court orders

Source: gulfnews.com

ISLAMABAD: The video leak scandal-hit judge of the Accountability Court, Arshad Malik, who was barred by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) from continuing as judge, is yet to report to his parent department — Lahore High Court (LHC).

Ministry of Law & Justice has not yet relieved him of his services in compliance with the IHC orders.

Acting Chief Justice of the IHC, Amer Farooq, earlier this month had directed the Ministry of Law & Justice to repatriate the judge to LHC from where his services were borrowed.

The judge’s integrity and competence were questioned by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) vice-president Maryam Nawaz who, in a press conference on July 6, shared a video with the media showing the judge admitting he was under pressure to convict former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in Al Azizia reference.

Immediately after her press conference, the judge issued a rebuttal through a press conference denying Maryam’s claims. He also held a meeting the acting Chief Justice of IHC but the court barred him from working as judicial officer and directed the Ministry to send him back to Lahore.

However, despite 20 days have lapsed, the Ministry of Law and Justice has not repatriated Arshad Malik.

The IHC registrar in a letter to the law ministry stated, “This letter may be treated as consultation of the Hon’ble Chief Justice of this court as required under section 5A (4) of the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999.”

While the law ministry kept the matter pending, Malik has got registered an FIR (first information report) against those who secretly filmed him as well as senior leaders of the PML-N for releasing the video to media.

At present, Malik is working neither under the IHC nor under the LHC, rather, the ministry has made him an ‘Officer on Special Duty’ (OSD) with his status ‘awaiting posting’.

A senior official of the Law & Justice Ministry told Gulf News the judge has to face a departmental inquiry and the LHC Member Inspection Committee (MIC) will conduct the inquiry into video leak scandal and till the findings of the inquiry are concluded he will remain an OSD.

Malik as the judge of the accountability court convicted Nawaz Sharif in the Al Azizia reference and awarded him 7 years in jail.

In the video shown by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader Maryam Nawaz Malik is seen telling a PML-N sympathiser that he had given the judgement against Mr Sharif under pressure.

In her Faisalabad rally too, Maryam Nawaz Sharif raised questions over the PTI-government’s double standards as judge who issued verdict against her father under pressure was removed from office but the person against whom the verdict was announced continued to be languishing in the jail.