In a notarized affidavit, former Gilgit-Baltistan Supreme Court chief Justice Rana M Shamim stated that he was a witness to the then CJP Saqib Nisar's directions to a high court judge not to release imprisoned Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz on bail before the 2018 general elections, reported The News.

An accountability court had convicted Nawaz and Maryam in a graft case before the general elections of 2018. Their lawyers moved court for suspension of the conviction but after initial hearings the judge adjourned the case till last week of July.

“Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz Sharif must remain in jail until the general elections are over. On assurances from the other side, he (Saqib Nisar) became calm and happily demanded another cup of tea,” read the affidavit in which Shamim was talking about the then chief justice of Pakistan, wrote Ansar Abbasi in his report.

Quoting the document, the report said Shamim’s statement was given under oath before the Oath Commissioner on November 10. The affidavit, duly notarized, contains the signature of the ex-CJ of Gilgit Baltistan as well as an image of his CNIC card. The notary public stamped the affidavit and recorded that it was “sworn under oath Before me” on Nov 10, 2021.

Journalists were sharing images of the affidavit on their Twitter accounts by Monday afternoon.

Only after editing name of the high court judge, the report listed contents of Shamim’s statement on oath. These are being reproduced below:

“I Justice Dr Rana Muhammad Shamim, former Chief Judge, Supreme Appellate Court of Gilgit Balistan (31 August 2015 to 30 Aug 2018) do hereby make the following statement under oath: -

1. In July 2018 while I was serving as the Chief Judge of the Supreme Appellate Court of Gilgit Baltistan, Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, the then Chief Justice of Pakistan, came to Gilgit for vacations along with 27 family members and stayed in the guest house of the court.

2. That one evening when I, my late wife, the Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar and his wife were taking tea in the lawn, I found the Chief Justice of Pakistan to be very disturbed and continuously talking on the phone to his registrar, directing him to go to the residence of Justice ------ of ------ and request him to immediately call him (the CJP).

3. That in case his call does not get through, then convey to him on his (Mian Saqib Nisar’s) behalf that Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz Sharif must not be released on bail before the general elections at any cost.

4. That shortly afterwards he also spoke to Justice ------ directly and told him that Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz Sharif must remain in jail until the general elections are over. On assurance from the other side he became calm and happily demanded another cup of tea.

5. I, as his colleague and host, requested him to spend his vacations with his family in Gilgit Baltistan and then asked him why he conveyed such a message to Justice ----- and for what. He said, “Rana Sahib you will never understand. You must treat it as if you never heard anything.” I told him in the presence of my late wife and his wife that Mian Nawaz Sharif has been falsely implicated and his sentence and that of Maryam Nawaz were both managed as was evident from his phone calls. He was initially disturbed to hear that but then relaxed again and said, “Rana Sahib the chemistry of Punjab is different from Gilgit Baltistan.”

6. That whatever is stated voluntarily herein above constitutes the complete truth.”