Pak PM's special assistant slams Maryam, questions credibility of judge's video

A Special Assistant to Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, Firdous Ashiq Awan, slammed PML-N leader Maryam Nawaz and questioned the credibility of a video featuring an accountability court judge released by the latter on Saturday.

"Credibility of the tape would be determined after forensic analysis. We will not hide anything from the nation...," The Express Tribune quoted Firdous as saying during a media briefing on Saturday.

Her reaction came shortly after Maryam released a video clip in which accountability court judge Arshad Malik can be seen claiming that there was a lack of evidence against former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills case. The leader is currently serving a seven-year jail sentence in Lahore's Kot Lakhpat jail in relation to the reference.

"Our government has never forced judges to flee from their chambers whereas the PML-N has a history of always exercising undue influence over courts. Prime Minister Imran Khan and the government have strengthened the courts. The government does not have influence over them," Firdous added.

In the video, the judge made these claims to a PML-N worker named Nasir Butt, who Firdous labeled as a "murderer."

"The tape has been provided to the PML-N by Nasir Butt, who is an infamous murderer and gang leader who fled to the UK after killing five people and remained an absconder for 20 years. Butt worked as a security guard for Nawaz Sharif in the UK and his cases were closed when the PML-N came into power," she claims.

The Special Assistant also slammed Maryam, stating that the PML-N leader is trying to gain public sympathy through the tape.

"It is a failed attempt to bolster the PML-N with the help of a tape," Firdous said, adding that recording a judge's private conversation is a violation of the law.