Politicians including Faisal Vawda and Talal Chaudhry held separate press conferences against Islamabad High Court (IHC) Justice Babar Sattar for holding a US green card.
While speaking at a program on Naya Daur TV, senior analyst Muzamal Suharwardy said that Faisal Vawda has raised a valid point that Justice Sattar should present a written document in which he informed the Supreme Judicial Council about his green card.
The analyst said that the then-chief justice of the IHC, Justice Athar Minallah, is trying to protect Justice Sattar by claiming that he informed him about his green card before taking an oath as judge. But there is no written record available, he added.
He further said that Justice Babar Sattar's green card is set to become a test case.
Suharwardy said that the IHC chief justice has issued contempt notices to ournalists Matiullah Jan and Talat Hussain, adding that it is not now easy to talk about judges.
While responding to a question about Dubai Leaks, the analyst said that Dubai Leaks is an ‘orphan leak’ as the establishment is not supporting it. Panama Leaks had support from the establishment; that’s why then-prime minister Nawaz Sahrif was ousted, but Dubai Leaks will not bring any outcomes or political unrest to the country, he added.
To another question, he said that Punjab Information Minister Azma Bukhari has announced that a tribunal will be formed to hear defamation cases that will be solved within 180 days and a fine of Rs 3 million will be imposed on the culprit. Suharwardy said that the Rs 3 million fine is so nominal and will not help curb fake news.
While talking about Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan’s appearance in the Supreme Court via video link, he said that the judiciary is providing facilitation to a specific party. He said that the courts should not be used for political purposes.