Capt (r) Safdar moves IHC against Aitzaz, seeks imprisonment

ISLAMABAD: Captain (retired) Mohammad Safdar — the husband of PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz — Saturday moved Islamabad High Court (IHC) against PPP leader Aitzaz Ahsan for "defaming" his acquittal.

The PML-N leader filed a contempt of court plea in the IHC and made state, through the Advocate-General for Pakistan, and IHC's registrar as respondents.

The PPP leader earlier this week alleged that the establishment helped the Sharif family clear the cases of corruption against them.

The PML-N leader mentioned that Ahsan, through his statement, "defamed" him, and his acquittal had been tainted, while his "esteem, in the eyes of the general public, has been lowered due to baseless allegations".

The petition mentioned that the PPP stalwart's statement also violates Article 2-A of the Constitution of Pakistan. Safdar also demanded that to ensure the public's confidence in the court, it should summon Ahsan and impose penalties on him, including imprisonment.

The PPP leader, apart from alleging that the establishment helped the PML-N leaders, said that the cases against PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and Maryam were open-and-shut and their conviction was evident.

In response, PPP's top leadership distanced itself from Ahsan's recent statement, saying that it was his personal view and does not reflect the party policy.

The News reported that the senior leadership of the PPP has also conveyed its serious reservations to the top party's top brass.

Acting President PPP Central Punjab Zone Rana Farooq Saeed said that Ahsan's statement is against the policy line and demanded his dismissal from the party's central executive committee.

“Many senior leaders of the party have conveyed their reservations on the statement of Ahsan, saying that it was not the first time that he took a stance different to that of the party policy,” elaborated a senior leader of the PPP when contacted by The News.

PPP has also reportedly decided to suspend the basic membership of the party’s stalwart and the former federal minister.

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, in a press conference along with other federal ministers, termed Ahsan a "traitor" and said that his "personal frustration" led to the statement.

The controversy stirred after the IHC last month acquitted Maryam and Safdar in the Avenfield reference, nullifying the conviction handed to them in 2018 by an accountability court.

And two weeks after their acquittal, a special court in Lahore acquitted PM Shehbaz and his son Hamza Shahbaz in an Rs16 billion money laundering case lodged against them by the Federal Investigation Agency.