Islamabad March 12 (TNS): While rejecting a reply submitted by anchorperson Shahid Masood seeking apology over his false claims he made about Imran Ali, the rapist and murderer of seven-year-old Zainab, a Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar on Monday made it clear that the journalist will face the law.
As the bench resumed hearing in the suo motu case after the joint investigation team (JIT) rejected Masood’s claims unfounded and concocted, the anchor through his counsel regretted about the claim he had made in his TV programme. To this, the chief justice replied that it was too late to seek pardon and the reply was unacceptable.
The chief justice also took exception to the contradictory statements made by the TV anchor before the court, which the top judge said was also the contempt of court. The chief justice also asked PEMRA to inform the court, for how long the programme could be banned.
The additional advocate general told the bench that investigation into the Zainab’s rape and murder case had to be put on hold for 48 hours after the anchor made some startling claims. The chief justice also said that they will also see if terrorism charges could be applied on the anchor for the lies.
The bench asked the anchor to furnish a copy of his reply to the attorney general and the additional advocate general and adjourned the case.
