ISLAMABAD – The Supreme Court (SC) issued another contempt of court notice against Nehal Hashmi on Wednesday for his ‘inflammatory’ speech targeting the superior judiciary made after his release from Adiala Jail, last month.
The former law maker, who was sent to jail for anti-judiciary remarks, had once again fired a broadside at the judges, complaining that his “appeal against conviction is still pending when he has already completed his sentence”.
The top court on Tuesday took notice of his outburst and ordered the registration of a first information report against him. The bench had screened a video clip of Hashmi’s speech, and the chief justice remarked that the former PML-N senator had, once again, used objectionable language against judges after his release.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Hashmi’s lawyer Kamran Murtaza claimed his client was “ashamed” of what he said and asked for it to be omitted from the court’s written order, the Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar turned down the request and mulled over whether to enhance Hashmi’s sentence. The apex court then ordered the former Senator to appear physically before the court to explain his position.
During today’s hearing, Hashmi was handed another contempt of court notice.
The firebrand politician asked the court to reconsider its decision as his “children would die” to which the CJP responded: “You should have thought of that earlier,” adding that the court would “take care of” Hashmi’s children.
“I am a middle-class man, I just get hyper when I am sad,” Hashmi asserted, citing his emotional state for the speech.
“Does seeing us make you hyper?” the chief justice inquired, stirring laughter in the courtroom.
“I can’t even pay my electricity bill without my job [as a lawyer],” Hashmi pleaded, however, the court ordered him to submit a written reply by March 11, the date for the next hearing of the case.
Hashmi’s lawyer also withdrew his services from the case today after obtaining the court’s permission to do so.
Nehal Hashmi’s 2017 Speech
In a video that went viral on the internet shows a disgruntled Senator Nehal warning rivals and ‘some honourable officials associated with top institutions’ of dire consequences if they continued their concerns with the accountability of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
“Whoever is asking for accountability will retire tomorrow and we will deal with them,” insinuated Hashmi in a veiled threat to the top judiciary currently probing the ruling Sharif family in the backdrop of Panama papers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=0ZNcSsaUOHY
“Those grilling… [be warned that] we will arrange the day of judgment for you.”
“You are making the life of the prime minister difficult. The Pakistani nation will make it difficult for you to live,” he added, without taking any names.
Following the speech, the court summoned the PML-N leader and after successive hearings sent him to jail on February 1, this year besides imposing a fine of Rs50,000 for contempt of court. He was also barred from holding public office for the next five years.
