‘Not examined leaked document’: Rana Shamim distances himself from controversial affidavit

Former Gilgit-Baltistan chief judge Rana Shamim asks more time from court to produce original document

The former Gilgit-Baltistan chief judge (GBCJ) Rana Shamim on Tuesday has distanced himself from the affidavit containing allegations against former Supreme Court chief justice (SCCJ) Saqib Nisar, and has sought more time from the court to produce the original affidavit.

Former GBCJ Rana Shamim appeared in Islamabad High Court in response to a show-cause issued by the court.

Shamim told the court that he had not examined the leaked document yet and he had no idea how that affidavit was being circulated.

The show-cause notice was issued on an ongoing investigation report on the affidavit published in a local newspaper on November 15. According to that affidavit, Shamim accused former SCCJ Saqib Nisar of meddling with judicial decisions and issuing directions to deny bails to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leaders Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz before the 2018 general elections.

The content of the affidavit had been reported in local media by journalist Ansar Abbasi, following which Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Athar Minallah took notice and issued show-cause notices to journalist Abbasi, editor-in-chief of Jang Group Mir Shakeel-ur-Rehman, The News editor Aamir Ghouri, as well as the former chief judge of Gilgit-Baltistan Rana Shamim under the Contempt of Court Ordinance.

Only Rehman, Ghouri, and Abbasi have submitted their responses in written form to the court.

When the court asked Shamim to submit his reply, the former GBCJ asked the court to re-schedule the hearing after December 12 as there had been a tragedy in his family. The court gave seven days to Shamim for submitting his written response.

Shamim has also changed his legal counsel, with his previous counsel being his son Ahmed Hassan Rana, who is also an advocate of the Supreme Court.

During the hearing today, Shamim stated that he had not seen his affidavit.