Judge Arshad Malik gets marching orders following video scandal

LAHORE: Lahore High Court (LHC) Chief Justice Muhammad Qasim Khan on Friday sacked former Islamabad accountability court judge Arshad Malik, who handed the verdict against former premier Nawaz Sharif in the Al-Azizia Still Mills case, ARY News reported.

According to sources, a seven-member administrative committee headed by the chief justice took the decision upon completion of an investigation into the video scandal.

Last year in July, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) had removed judge Arshad Malik from his post and surrender his services back to the LHC. A spokesperson for the law ministry had said the decision of the judge’s removal was in light of the ongoing ‘video leak’ controversy.

The chief justice of the IHC, in a letter, requested the Ministry of Law to remove Judge Arshad Malik till a decision on the controversy is revealed.

Addressing a press conference alongside top PML-N leadership on July 6, 2019, Maryam Nawaz had shown reporters a video in which accountability court judge Arshad Malik can be heard saying that there was “no proof of corruption against the deposed premier” in the Al-Azizia reference.

Accountability Court Judge Arshad Malik, who sentenced former prime minister Nawaz Sharif to jail, had denied Maryam Nawaz’s allegations that the judge was blackmailed into convicting Nawaz without any evidence.