ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s top court has disqualified a sitting senator from holding public office for five years and sentenced him to a month in prison over a charge that he threatened judges.
The Supreme Court also fined Sen. Nehal Hashmi, a member of the ruling party Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party, 50,000 Pakistani rupees ($450).
The senator faced a contempt charge after he allegedly threatened judges. Although he made an unconditional apology, the Supreme Court dismissed his plea.
Hashmi, who was in court on Thursday when the verdict was announced, was ushered from the court building by police.
Minister of State for Interior Mohammed Tallal Chaudhry instantly criticized the ruling, and called for it to be reviewed, in an interview with Arab News.
He questioned whether the Supreme Court would try others for contempt of court or whether “just the ruling party is the target.”
In May 2017, a video was viewed on social and mainstream media in which Hashmi appeared to threaten judges and officials involved in the investigation of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his family over corruption allegations. The investigation followed allegations that surfaced against the family following the release of documents from a Panama law firm, in April 2016.
“Remember, you are in service now but you will retire one day, we will make it hard for you and your family to live in Pakistan,” Hashmi had said in the video.
His video statement appeared to refer to Joint Investigation Team (JIT) members investigating allegations against the Sharif family, as well as Supreme Court judge members of JIT.
Later, in a series of statements, the senator said that he had not been referring to officials or judges, but to Imran Khan’s political party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), instead.
Hashmi has been asked by the ruling PML-N party to account for his statement and the party has suspended his membership.