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Kidnapping of girl
SC suspends judge for allowing bail to minister
Saturday, May 29, 2010SC suspends judge for allowing bail to minister
By Sohail Khan
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Friday ordered suspension of the additional sessions judge Kohat for granting bail before arrest to provincial minister Mian Nisar Gul allegedly involved in the kidnapping of a girl with the help of 16 jail officials.
A three-member bench of the apex court, comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Ghulam Rabbani and Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday, was hearing a suo moto case against the abduction of a girl, Nabila, from Kohat.
The court directed the chief justice of the Peshawar High Court to immediately suspend Additional Sessions Judge Asghar Ali Shah. The court also directed the chief secretary Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa to submit theprogress report of the case on next hearing on June 11.
According to the case, Nabila spent six days in abduction allegedly carried out by policemen on the orders of Nisar Gul. She was later recovered and produced before the Supreme Court. During the course of the hearing, Qazi Muhammad Anwar, counsel for Nisar Gul, submitted that his client was not involved in the case and was ready to take oath on Quran. The court asked the counsel not to decide the issue on Quran.
The chief justice expressed dismay over the police performance in the case and observed that nobody was taking any action as the minister was involved in the case. Advocate General Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Asadullah Chamkani, informed the court that he would move an application before the concerned court for the cancellation of the bail of the minister.
Additional Sessions Judge Kohat Asghar Ali Shah requested the court to forgive him for passing a wrong order. He said he had approached the sessions judge for the transfer of the case due to its political nature.
If you are so afraid then why have you accepted this job, Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday said. You dont deserve to be a judicial officer, the test of a man is when he comes under pressure, he observed. Asghar Ali Shah contended that he was not under any pressure. If that is so, then why you said that there was no case against the minister, Justice Ramday asked.
The chief justice told the judge that being a competent authority he could have rectified the matter. The minister informed the court that he was provided security after attacks by the Taliban.
Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday asked him to tell the court under which law jail officials were providing him security. We will be sending you to jail where the entire jail staff will provide you security, Justice Ramday further remarked.
APP adds: During previous proceedings, it was revealed that on instructions of the provincial minister, the inspector general Jail Affairs allegedly provided 16 persons for kidnapping a girl, Nabila, from Kohat.
The same bench had taken strong exception to the so-called reconciliation between the sitting provincial minister and the family of the abducted girl. It was revealed that after six days upon the Supreme Courts intervention, Nabila was produced by the SP (investigation) but the accused minister succeeded in getting bail.
Our Peshawar correspondent adds: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Prisons Mian Nisar Gul Kakakhel on Friday tendered his resignation after the Supreme Court moved against him in a kidnapping case of a woman from Karak.
The minister while sending the resignation letter to Chief Minister Ameer Haider Hoti argued that his case was under trial in the apex court, so he felt that he should not occupy the office. Provincial Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain confirmed the resignation and said it had been received by the chief minister.
Quoting Mian Nisar Gul, a statement issued on Friday said that a case against him was under trial in the apex court, and he wanted to shun any perception of influencing the case by using his position. To remove this misperception, I have decided to quit the cabinet slot, the ministers statement added.
Mian Nisar Gul, who was elected as member of the provincial assembly from southern Karak district as an independent candidate and later joined the Awami National Party, was accused by one Zubaida Begum of kidnapping her daughter. He twice won election for the provincial assembly from Karak and was earlier affiliated to Imran Khans Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf.
The woman alleged that the minister and his brothers broke into her house and abducted her daughter with the help of 14 guards from the Prisons Department. The entire tribe rose against the minister when the woman first approached the police and later spoke to media.
The minister, however, secured bail from a local court in the case filed against him. Mian Nisar Gul denied allegations levelled against him by the woman. Succumbing to the pressure from the public, the minister apologized before a grand Jirga and agreed to pay a fine of Rs8 million as well as offer 10 bulls to be slaughtered as fine.
The Jirga later waived the fine, but the bulls were slaughtered and a grand feast was given to the jirga participants. On the day the two sides mutually settled the issue, Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry took suo moto notice of the case, directing the minister to appear before the court. The court expressed fury over such indecent and unlawful action by a member of the cabinet.
The court also expressed anger over the decision of an additional sessions judge in Kohat for granting bail to Mian Nisar Gul in the case. The judge Syed Asghar Shah was finally suspended by the Peshawar High Court on Friday on the directives of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. Several attempts were made to contact Mian Nisar Gul, but both his cell phones were found switched off.
