- Reporter of local Urdu daily fails to verify claim published in his story
ISLAMABAD: Two prosecution witnesses were cross-examined in Minister for Privatisation Daniyal Aziz’s contempt case as the three-judge bench, headed by Justice Azmat Saeed Sheikh, resumed the hearing on Friday.
Additional Attorney General (AAG) Waqar Rana, the prosecutor in the case, produced Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) Director Haji Adam Khan and Sajid Chaudhry, a reporter in Dunya newspaper as the two witnesses before the court.
Khan said that the minister had given a statement regarding Justice Ijazul Ahsan, admitting that the regulatory authority did not issue any notice to Dawn News for airing the statement on December 19.
Informing the court that his role in PEMRA was to monitor television programmes, Khan presented parts of multiple video clips wherein Aziz had commented on the judiciary and its decisions. These included a press conference held at the Press Information Department (PID) on September 8, 2017, a clip aired on Neo TV on December 15, 2017, and two others aired on DawnNewsTV, on December 9 and 21 in the same year.
The PEMRA director informed the court that one of the DawnNewsTV clips was recorded on December 19, 2017, but aired two days later.
Aziz’s counsel asked Khan whether he verified the source of the clip, at which the witness responded that it was not his job to do so. “Are you trying to assert that it is not Daniyal Aziz [in the clip] but somebody else?” Justice Saeed asked.
However, Aziz’s counsel remained undeterred and continued his line of questioning and further asked whether the clip could have been edited. Unimpressed, Justice Saeed asked how would the witness be able to answer the question.
Approving Aziz’s counsel’s request for the entire press conference to be played, Justice Saeed remarked that he was allowing it despite the conference being boring as the court had no other option.
After the clip was played, Aziz’s lawyer asked the reporter where in the clip had Daniyal said that the monitoring judge had the accountability references [against Sharifs and Dar] prepared. The reporter expressed his inability to verify this, although it was mentioned in the headline of the report.
After viewing the clips, Justice Saeed commented that the court may have to indict Aziz for other crimes as well.
The hearing of the case was adjourned until April 16.
Earlier this month, the apex court framed charges against Aziz in the contempt of court case. Justice Mushir read out the charge-sheet, wherein it was stated that Aziz obstructed court proceedings and scandalised the court in connection with three statements he delivered last year against Justice Ijazul Ahsan.
