ISLAMABAD – Accountability Court judge Arshad Malik has rejected the allegations against him levelled by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz in a leaked video.
In a press note issued on Sunday, Malik said that the conversation in video is presented out of context.
He said that Maryam Nawaz has made false allegations in the press conference that he give the verdict under pressure.
“If I had to give verdict under pressure or bribe, I would not have sentenced Nawaz Sharif in one jail and acquit him in another,” he said.
“I listened to Maryam Nawaz’s press conference where she levelled allegations against me. This was only done to get political advantage.
“It was a conspiracy to hurt me and my family’s repute,” he added.
About Nasir Butt, the central character in the leaked video scandal, Malik said he is also from Rawalpindi, adding that he knows him and his brother Abdullah Malik for long.
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/headline/nab-judge-admitted-former-pm-nawaz-not-guilty-in-al-azizia-reference-claims-pml-n/
In a press conference on Saturday, PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz had presented a video of Accountability Court judge Arshad Malik allegedly confessing that he convicted former premier Nawaz Sharif on the pressure of hidden forces.
The video was shot by Nawaz Sharif’s supporter Nasir Butt. In the video, judge Arshad Malik is recorded as saying that he is really upset as he did not do justice and his conscience is burdened.
“They have secret material against everybody. They called me and showed me a video. After watching it, I had no choice but to act upon what they said,” the judge says to Nasir Butt without naming anyone who showed him the compromising video, which was used to pressurise him.
Maryam Nawaz said the judge was blackmailed and forced to convict Nawaz Sharif by the powers-that-be.
The accountability judge has also called for action against those responsible for releasing such a “false and misleading video”.
On Saturday, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan had said Maryam Nawaz was making an absurd attempt to gain public sympathy through an audio/video tape.
Addressing a press conference along with traders’ representatives at a local hotel, Firdous said PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif looked like a gambler who had lost every thing. “It seems that a coup has occurred in PML-N and the niece has cornered his uncle,” she added.
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/headline/al-azizia-steel-mills-and-flagship-investment-references-pakistani-court-to-decide-fate-of-ex-pm-nawaz-sharif/
Al-Azizia corruption reference
In December, an accountability court sentenced former prime minister Nawaz Sharif to seven-year rigorous imprisonment after it found him guilty in Al-Azizia reference, one of the three graft cases filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in line with the apex court order.
The Supreme Court on July 28, 2017, disqualified Nawaz in Panama Papers case and ordered NAB to file separate cases which were respectively called Avenfiled, Al-Azizia and Flagship references.
Judge Muhammad Arshad Malik had acquitted Sharif in Flagship reference.
The former premier and his family members have already been convicted in Avenfield case. However, the accountability court judge Muhammad Arshad Malik on Monday acquitted Sharif in Flagship reference.
