Ousted premier Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday shared his reservations over the Supreme Court’s suggestion that a joint investigation team (JIT) probe the 1986 allotment of Waqf property attached to the Pakpattan shrine of Hazrat Baba Fariduddin Masud Ganj Shakar.
Sharif is facing a charge that being the chief minister of Punjab in 1986 he ordered withdrawal of a notification of Dec 17, 1969 and allegedly allotted huge lands of Auqaf around Pakpattan to Dewan Ghulam Qutab in violation of the high court order.
A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar had earlier directed the former prime minister to appear before the court today to explain his position in the case.
As the hearing began, the chief justice asked about the whereabouts of Sharif, who then came to the rostrum.
“What is your opinion of your written stance on the matter?” the judge asked.
“This is a 32-year-old incident. I don’t remember any such order being passed,” Sharif replied.
Justice Nisar then asked Sharif if he would like to be briefed on the background of the case.
“To do justice is not just the job of the court,” the Justice Nisar told Sharif. “People in your position should also provide justice.”
“Mian sahab is afraid of joint investigation teams,” the top judge remarked. “Mian sahab, we will make you the judge, you can decide for yourself. Decide within one week what must be done,” he added.
“My experience with JITs has not been good,” Sharif responded.
“We wish to clear the reputation of a former two-time chief minister and three-time prime minister,” the CJP said.
“If the chief minister at the time did not suspend the notification, then who did? Who was the beneficiary?” he asked.
“If you did not have the authority, then how were the 1969 and 1971 notifications cancelled?” the CJP asked.
