NAB court judge dismisses video as ?fabricated?

[ahlam1399]

ISLAMABAD: An accountability court judge has dismissed the video and audio “evidence” released by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leadership in an explosive news conference a day earlier as “fake and assumptive”.In a statement issued by the Registrar Accountability Court Islamabad on Sunday, Judge Arshad Malik said: “The video shown yesterday by PML-N leader Maryam Safdar at a news conference is fake and assumptive.”The statement comes a day after the PML-N leadership released a video clip purportedly showing the judge admitting to a lack of evidence against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills reference.In December last year, the same judge had sentenced Sharif to seven years in prison in the case.In remarks quoted by Radio Pakistan, Judge Malik explained his position on the video attributed to him, saying it is “contrary to facts”. He said the news conference was aimed at making his decisions “controversial and to achieve political motives”.He also urged legal action to be taken against the elements behind the video. Judge Malik clarified that the conversation that took place on different occasions was “presented out of context”. “It is important to bring the truth to the fore following the news conference of Maryam Safdar,” he added.According to the press release, he alleged he was “offered bribe many a times when he was hearing cases against Nawaz Sharif and his family members”. He also said he was “threatened with dire consequences” in case he did not cooperate.However, he “strongly rejected those threats and stayed on the righteous path with firm conviction”. He said had he given the Al-Azizia verdict under any pressure or greed, he would not have announced a conviction in one case and acquittal in the other.He pointed out that he acquitted Nawaz Sharif in the Flagship Investments and convicted him in Al-Azizia reference “on the basis of evidence”. The judge also made it clear that there was “no pressure of any sort” whilst handing down the judgments against the corruption references against Nawaz Sharif.Following the denial, PML-N Vice President Maryam took to Twitter to say she understood the constraints due to which the judge took that particular decision, Geo News reported. Maryam showed the alleged video and read out its transcript on Saturday at a press conference lasting more than an hour. PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif, former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Khawaja Asif, Ahsan Iqbal and other senior party leaders flanked her.The video purportedly shows the accountability court judge speaking to a PML-N worker named Nasir Butt and claiming that he was coerced to hand down the prison sentence against Nawaz Sharif despite there being no proof of corruption against the deposed premier.http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/com/cwEr/~4/mIfpbvCRi-M

أكثر... (http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/com/cwEr/~3/mIfpbvCRi-M/495295-nab-court-judge-dismisses-video-as-fabricated)