Supreme Court forms new JIT to probe Shahid Masood's claims

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published: 28 January 2018

The Supreme Court of Pakistan has formed a new joint investigation team to investigate claims made by Dr. Shahid Masood about the Zainab case. The court has mandated Masood to provide evidence to support his allegations regarding numerous bank accounts linked to the alleged killer.

Summary

LAHORE - The Supreme Court on Sunday constituted a new joint investigation team led by Bashir Memon, the director general of Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to probe claims of NewsOneTV analyst Dr. Shahid Masood.

Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar ordered that the new JIT be formed as he presided over a suo motu hearing into the Zainab case at the Lahore registry.

The court told Masood he would have to face the consequences if his claims turned out to be false while a certificate of honesty would be awarded to him if they proved true.

The chief justice ordered Masood to appear before the JIT and present evidence to back his claims.

The analyst had claimed in his show that the alleged killer of little Zainab, had almost 40 bank accounts in Pakistan. But this was dismissed by the State Bank as wrong.

"These days, the law is discussed more on TV than in courts," the chief justice remarked. "You need to provide evidence. The accounts you mentioned do not exist. You have failed to prove your allegations so far."

Several senior journalists also appeared before the three-member bench, among them Arif Nizami, Mujeebur Rehman Shami, I.A. Rahman, and Kamran Khan. They suggested punishments for fake news after being asked by the judges to do so.

KEY POINTS:

• Supreme Court forms new JIT led by Bashir Memon.
• Dr. Shahid Masood must provide evidence for his claims.
• Claims about 40 bank accounts were dismissed by the State Bank.
• Judges discussed punishments for spreading fake news.
• Several senior journalists advised the court during the proceedings.