Islamabad (march 07, 2018): The Supreme Court on Wednesday has rejected journalist Shahid Masood’s claims about the culprit in Zainab murder case, Imran being part of a pornography ring operating within Pakistan with multiple bank accounts.
Hearing case regarding startling revelations made by Shahid Masood, 3-member bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Saqib Nisar said that the time to apologize and retract claims has passed, although Dr. Shahid Masood should file written confession and apology for spreading misinformation for the court to reach a final decision.
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“In your programme you said that you should be hanged if your allegations are proven incorrect,” Justice Nisar reminded the anchorperson.
“Some people had suggested you should apologise in [an earlier hearing in] Lahore,” the CJP said. “The time for an apology has now passed,” Justice Nisar said, adding that Dr Masood could continue contesting the case if he wished.
On March 1, the joint investigation team (JIT) probing TV anchorperson Dr Shahid Masood’s claims regarding the Zainab murder case convict rejected all of his allegations.
The report was submitted to the Supreme Court of Pakistan on Thursday, declaring all of the 18 allegations levelled by the anchorperson as baseless.
On January 28, the Supreme Court (SC) of Pakistan formed a new joint investigation team (JIT) regarding Zainab’s rape and murder case after Dr. Shahid Masood’s allegations and remarked that anchorpersons should stop interrogating the case.
A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Saqib Nisar began the proceedings by taking up an anchorperson’s allegations, refuted by the government, that the suspect Imran has several bank accounts and is part of an international ring involving government officials.
The report which was presented in the court on Thursday stated that no proof was found of the convict’s connection with an influential person or that he was being patronised by a federal minister.
It also states that no links of the convict with an international mafia or a serving federal minister were found.
Similarly, no proof was found that the convict could be killed while in police custody or that violent crime/child pornography is common in Kasur.
Allegations that the convict’s bank accounts were spread throughout Pakistan or that he received payments from abroad for crimes were also proven to be false.
Additionally, claims that Imran sent Zainab’s picture to international viewers before committing the crime, or that the incident was viewed live via the internet, were found to be false, with an observation by the JIT members that no evidence of Imran ever accessing the Dark Web or internet have been found.
