Rana Shamim apologises once more for her "wrong, unnecessary affidavit" in the contempt case

 

ISLAMABAD: Rana Mohammad Shamim, a former chief judge of Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), submitted an unconditional apology to the Islamabad High Court for the "wrong and unnecessary affidavit" that accused Saqib Nisar, a former chief justice of Pakistan, of judicial manipulation.

Rana Shamim formally stated, "I express an unqualified apology for an affidavit which was neither correct nor required," in a new apology he submitted on Friday.

In his over 30 years of professional experience, he insisted he has always respected both the bar and the bench and could never conceive purposely embarrassing or defaming any judge.

I regret rather than apologise for a false affidavit in which an honourable judge's name was accidentally and mistakenly revealed.

The judge apologised for the "terrible mistake" and stated it shouldn't have happened.

"My glaring misunderstanding and accidental error led to the inaccurate and improper mention of a judge of this honourable court in the affidavit dated 10th November 2021," claimed Shamim.

The former judge retracted the affidavit's statements, saying, "I sincerely regret for the incorrect and unnecessary affidavit."

He continued, "I leave myself at the mercy of this honourable court."

IHC prepares accusations of contempt against Shamim

The IHC formally charged Rana Shamim on January 20 in connection with the alleged publishing of his affidavit.

In contrast, Rana Shamim sent a written apology to the IHC in the instance of alleged contempt of court.

Shamim showed that when he wrote his affidavit "after nearly three long years" following the meeting that he detailed above, he was 72 years old, suffering from severe mental stress, and a "serious heart patient."

Shamim claimed that this caused him to "fall victim to a misunderstanding" and mistakenly write "senior puisne judge" in the affidavit instead of Justice Aamir.

He claimed that he now "truly regrets the severe mistake" that he unintentionally did and that he is asking for unqualified apologies.

The IHC rejected the apology on September 13 and I gave him a week to respond.

An affidavit by Rana Shamim

In a notarized affidavit, Rana Shamim claimed to have witnessed the then-CJP Saqib Nisar ordering a high court judge not to grant bail to Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz at any cost prior to the 2018 general elections.

Maryam and Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif must stay in prison until the conclusion of the general elections. According to the affidavit of the former top judge of GB, speaking about the then-top judge of Pakistan, Saqib Nisar, "he (Saqib Nisar) got calm and gladly asked another cup of tea."

The document states that on November 10, 2021, Shamim testified under oath before the Oath Commissioner.

The ex-CJ of Gilgit Baltistan has signed the affidavit, which has been officially notarized, and it also includes a photo of his CNIC card. On November 10, 2021, the affidavit was "sworn under oath Before me," according to the notary public who stamped it.

However, when questioned, former Chief Justice Saqib Nisar vehemently denied ever giving any of his inferior judges any instructions on any judicial order, whether it related to Nawaz Sharif, Shehbaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz, or anyone else.