ISLAMABAD. Gilgit-Baltistan's former chief judge Dr Rana Muhammad Shamim has challenged his indictment in the contempt of court case pertaining to an affidavit he executed alleging former chief justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar attempted to influence a case against the Sharif family.

The report, which was published in The News International, highlights an affidavit accusing the former chief justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar of influencing the case against former premier Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz before the 2018 general elections.

Former CJP Justice Nisar had rejected the allegations of the former chief judge of G-B. He told media that the accusations levelled against him were contrary to facts and that the “plain lies” peddled in the affidavit didn't merit a response.

IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah indicted Shamim over the affidavit on January 20. However, the court did not frame charges against Geo and Jang group Editor in Chief Mir Shakeelur Rehman and senior journalists Ansar Abbasi and Aamir Ghauri, who are also respondents in the case. The court warned them that it will indict the journalists if it surfaced that the news was published deliberately.

In the intra-court appeal, Shamim termed the indictment as “illegal” as only he was indicted and those who published the affidavit were exempted from the court’s decision.

“The case should be disposed of by declaring the order on the indictment as null and void,” it read, adding that nothing was on record pertaining to his statements to publish the affidavit.

The former GB chief judge has named Ansar Abbasi, Mir Shakeelur Rehman, and Aamir Ghouri as respondents in the case.