*ISLAMABAD: **Supreme Court’s first response surfaces over Judge ArshadMalik video scandal.*
Supreme Court on Friday admitted a petition for preliminary hearing filed aday earlier requesting a thorough investigation into the controversialsecretly taped video of the judge.
The development comes minutes after the Law Ministry barred Malik fromserving as an accountability court judge after the Islamabad High Court(IHC) requested his removal over the Videogate scandal.
It is for the first time in the tenure of Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosathat the top court has entertained constitutional petition without raisingany objections and fixed the plea for hearing on July 17. A three-memberbench, headed by the chief justice, will conduct the hearing.
The petition was moved by Ishtiaq Ahmed Mirza through his counsel ChaudhryMunir Sadiq on Thursday asking the court to take notice of thecontroversial video “targeting the judiciary” released by Pakistan MuslimLeague-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice-President Maryam Nawaz.
Last week, Maryam flanked by senior most party leaders had unveiled a videoin news conference showing Islamabad Accountability Court-II Judge ArshadMalik confessing before a PML-N worker Nasir Butt that he waspressured into convicting former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in Al-Aziziacase.