ISLAMABAD: Supreme Court Justice Athar Minullah has issued a dissenting note regarding the rejection of the request for live broadcast of the NAB Amendments case.
Justice Athar Minullah, in a 13-page note, wrote that there was no solid reason to deny the public access to the live broadcast of the Supreme Court, rather it would violate the principles laid down in the Justice Qazi Faiz Isa case.
He wrote that when former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was arrested and sent to jail, he was not an ordinary prisoner but a victim of the state machinery of an unconstitutional military dictator. Mentioned the injustice of depriving him of a fair trial, but the damage done to Bhutto is irreparable.
The learned judge said that Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif were not common criminals either, both of them faced misuse of state power, both leaders had millions of followers as public representatives, both were harassed and He was ridiculed and corruption cases were framed against him by unelected people without evidence.
Justice Athar Minullah said that it is a matter of surprise that several trials are being conducted against another former prime minister in some of which he has been convicted. The recent general elections proved that the founder PTI also has millions of supporters. PTI founders are not common criminals or prisoners.
He wrote that there was a nexus of the judiciary in mocking and harassing the elected public representatives.
Justice Athar Minullah further said that the NAB Act was implemented by the military dictator on November 16, 1999, through which politicians were targeted for revenge, there were constant allegations that NAB was being used for political engineering, non-discrimination. Because of this, the credibility and impartiality of NAB was seriously damaged in the eyes of the public. Due to the NAB law, people were arrested for many months and even many years. NAB says that the trial will be completed in thirty days, because of NAB. The country suffered irreparable damage, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Nawaz Sharif, Yusuf Raza Gilani were not only humiliated but their dignity was also undermined.
