ATC judge accused of sympathising with Imran

LAHORE: The Punjab government has accused an Anti-terrorism Court (ATC) judge of sympathising with former Prime Minister Imran Khan and ex-foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and has sought a disciplinary action against him.

ATC Rawalpindi judge Malik Ejaz Asif is hearing the cases of the duo related to their alleged involvement in the May 9 incident.

The reference has been dispatched to the Lahore High Court (LHC) by the Office of the Prosecutor General Punjab which states that the Punjab Home Department and District Public Prosecutor, In-charge Prosecution ATC, Rawalpindi has reported commission of misconduct by the ATC judge.

In the reference, eight charges have been levelled against the judge. Included among them are two related to the sympathetic treatment which, the reference alleges, has been accorded to the two prominent accused, the leadership of Pakistan Tehreek-e-insaf (PTI).

Meanwhile, the public prosecutors have been directed not to appear before the judge as the request for proceeding against him has been initiated.

The prosecution stated in the reference that the judge visited Imran Khan’s jail cell on March 25 and said to him: “Since I have now arrived, tell me anything which I can do for you.”

As Imran demanded a refrigerator, the judge obtained an application from him and ordered to acquire the same from Qureshi. Subsequently, both the accused were granted this facility, alleges the reference.

The judge issued the order in this regard without giving a prior notice of these applications to the prosecution which also validates the point that the communication in this regard did not take place in the open court, and “rather heard them ex-parte and failed to conduct proceedings in open court thereby commiting misconduct,” according to the reference.

It is a mater of record that both convicts Imran and Qureshi are in the judicial custody of the ATC judge, the reference states, and the accused are facing trial before Asif, the reference said.