As the apex court will announce its judgement on Judge Arshad Malik video case on Friday (today), the Islamabad High Court on Thursday suspended the judge and directed that he be repatriated to Lahore High Court (LHC), his parent department.
The notification issued by the Acting Registrar of IHC said: "The disclosures and admissions made by Muhammad Arshad Malik, District and Sessions Judge/former judge of Accountability Court-II, Islamabad, in his press release dated 07-07-2019 and the affidavit dated 11-07-2019, prima facie, constitute acts of misconduct and violation of the Code of Conduct, which warrant initiation of disciplinary proceedings against him. Therefore, the IHC chief justice has been pleased to order to place the said judicial officer under suspension and repatriate to his parent department ie Lahore High Court, Lahore, with immediate effect, for disciplinary proceedings to be conducted in accordance with law."
The Supreme Court on August 20 had directed Attorney General for Pakistan Anwar Mansoor to inform within two days whether the court should dispose of the case or continue monitoring the investigation.
Advocates Ishtiaq Ahmed Mirza, Sohail Akhtar and Tariq Asad have filed petitions under Article 184(3) of Constitution regarding allegations levelled in a video against Judge Arshad Malik by the PML-N leader.
PML-N Vice-President Maryam Nawaz on July 6, along with the senior leaders of PML-N, held a press conference wherein she displayed a video recording allegedly a conversation between Arshad Malik with respondent No. 6 (Nasir Butt), which has created an impression that the judiciary is not working independently rather it is blackmailed and forced to act on the instructions of blackmailing persons.
The Chief Justice in the last hearing had asked the federal government to immediately repatriate Judge Arshad Malik to the Lahore High Court so that inquiry against him could be initiated. He stated that heads of hardworking and honest judges all over Pakistan have 'hung in shame' because of Judge Arshad, but the government is taking this issue lightly.
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