IHC receives sealed affidavit of Rana Shamim from London: sources  

KARACHI: A sealed affidavit of former chief justice of Gilgit Baltistan Rana Shamim has been received at the Islamabad High Court (IHC) through a courier from London, where it was kept in a locker, ARY NEWS reported.

According to sources in the judiciary, the courier carrying the sealed affidavit was received by the registrar of the Islamabad High Court, who placed another seal on it to secure it.

“The affidavit from Rana Shamim will be presented and opened before the court in the next hearing,” they said adding that it was written on the envelope carrying the affidavit that it could only be opened by the chief justice of the IHC.

During today’s hearing, Islamabad High Court (IHC) deferred the decision of indictment of former Gilgit Baltistan (GB) chief justice Rana Shamim in a contempt case until December 20.

The hearing was conducted by IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah, in which, Ansar Abbasi, Aamir Ghauri and others appeared, while Rana Shamim and Mir Shakeel-ur-Rehman did not show up.

AGP Khalid Javed read the statement of former GB judge, Rana Shamim before the court. The former judge said himself that he did not want to publish an affidavit in media. How the statement got leaked, only the former GB judge can tell the court as according to him it was kept in a locker with his grandson in the UK.

The AGP pleaded with the court to indict the respondents in the case by stating that there is a contradiction in the statements between Ansar Abbasi and Rana Shamim.

The court remarked that leaking someone’s personal document is a crime and is against the law. IHC CJ Athar Minallah remarked that fingers have been pointed out at the court he heads.

Spat between Saqib Nisar, Rana Shamim 

Former CJ Gilgit Baltistan Rana Shamim had claimed that former CJP Saqib Nisar had asked a high court judge to keep Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz Sharif in jail till the 2018 general elections.
He claimed that he heard the conversation when the former CJP was visiting GB before the 2018 elections.

Saqib Nisar, however, rejected the claim and said that the allegations against him are far away from reality and termed it as a lie.

The former top judge said, “Rana Shamim asked me for extension of his tenure as CJ GB, which I didn’t approve.” Nisar said Rana Shamim complained once against not giving him an extension.