ISLAMABAD: The government has placed the name of former Gilgit-Baltistan chief judge on the Provisional National Identification List (PNIL), thereby barring him from flying abroad, revealed Minister for Interior Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed Wednesday.
Rana Muhammad Shamim, long-associated with the party of deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif, in November opened Pandora’s box claiming former chief justice Saqib Nisar did not want former Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz to be released on bail ahead of the general elections in July 2018.
The two were convicted in a National Accountability Bureau (NAB) reference related to their ownership of four multi-million-dollar London apartments weeks before the elections on July 25. When their counsels moved the high court for suspension of the conviction, the case was adjourned until the last week of July.
Nisar had travelled to the mountainous region for vacations in 2018, an affidavit Shamim purportedly signed in London during a trip to the British capital last month, said.
On one occasion, the then top judge appeared “very disturbed” while speaking to the Supreme Court registrar on the phone, asking him to get in touch with a high court judge.
Once able to get in touch with the judge, Mr Nisar ordered him that “Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz Sharif must remain in jail until the general elections are over. On assurances from the other side, he [Nisar] became calm and happily demanded another cup of tea.”
The other judge was not named in the affidavit.
Shamim is now facing a contempt of court case in the Islamabad High Court (IHC).
Addressing a press conference, Ahmed further the cabinet will hold a meeting to deliberate his placement on the Exit Control List (ECL) as well.
He said the government would introduce an e-passport system next year which would help people to avoid the hassle of the manual system.
The director general of immigration and passports at the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) had been directed to ensure the launch of e-passport in the three months, he told media.
He said the directorate was providing online passport facilities to over 190 countries. The facility for citizenship cancellation and others including emergency travel documents were also available online.
The minister urged the overstaying government officials in foreign missions to return to the country at the earliest, else they would be sacked from the service.
He said the government was fully focused to ensure the implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP), adding those who had brought disgrace to the country would be dealt with iron hands.
The minister said the government was willing to provide emergency travel documents to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supreme leader Nawaz Sharif within 24 hours if he was ready to return to Pakistan to face the courts.
He said he had asked the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) chief to tighten noose around the people involved in money laundering.
He also asked the multi-party Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) alliance to change its date of Islamabad march from March 23 to 30.
Rashid said the government would tolerate the march if PDM did not disturb the law and order situation in the capital during its demonstration.
To a question, Ahmed said there was no consensus among the alliance’s on the date of the long march, adding they were making the announcement for the sake of publicity.
“Those who do not agree on the date, how they can oust Prime Minister Imran Khan,” he remarked.
