Daily Times

Retired Senior Judge Rana Mohammad Shamim must be wondering whether he did the right thing in opening a can of worms. For, the allegations of judicial interference levelled against former chief justice Mian Saqib Nisar are dashing to the brink of an enormous saga. The son has stepped inside the ring now; his interview putting more heat on the much-talked-about affidavit.

Talking to a television channel, he went into great detail about the long-standing “direct relations” the G-B justice enjoyed with the former prime minister Nawaz Sharif. While Ahmed Hassan Rana had likely spilt beans to defend the veracity of his client’s testimony. If Mr Shamim enjoying warm feelings for the Sharif family and representing them in the past had been broadcasted to squash any bias concerns, job (not well done! Under what circumstances can he defend the prolonged delay and the peculiar choice of where he stood up and take an oath (even the controversial notary). The fact that his counsel has now concocted a drawn-out story about the explosive statement being leaked to the press makes literally no sense and opens his father to stinging questions. Already, PML(N)’s Musaddaq Malik has called the interaction “interesting and funny.” But there’s more. Weaving a cat-and-mouse fable about different realities dictating the judicial corridor in G-B than the rest of Pakistan despite them being under one flag was quite an unusual strategy that Rana Junior employed to hold the honourable judge at bay. Since Justice Minallah has already made note of his inaction as “unbecoming of a judicial officer,” the former justice would have to compose a strongly-worded defence before the bench.

Only a Buddhist blind monkey would be oblivious to the obvious upper hand the Sharif clan wishes to gain through such unwise obstructions. Clearly, not the judiciary as was rightly asserted by the IHC. Investigating the dirty nexus that brought about such ill-founded claims (easily torn apart in just one interview) should be of paramount importance. The supreme institution of the judiciary is spot-on in initiating the inquiry about such grave charges. Though the ex-chief justice may enjoy across-the-board confidence, the public still needs to be reassured of the court’s “impartiality and independence.” However, one can’t help but wonder when would the mighty and the wealthy learn their lesson. Instead of fighting for their exoneration on merit, the top one per cent is always seen in pursuit of some onerous Gordian knot. And going by the viral Judge Arshad’s video and Judge Shaukat Aziz’s famous accusations, nowhere can this be witnessed more ostensibly than the chronicles of Sharif and Co. *