Anchorperson Shahid Masood had earlier claimed during a late night show that Imran Ali was a member of a pornography gang. In the earlier hearings of the case, the anchor had also told the court that the accused has 37 foreign accounts.
After a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) investigated Dr Masood’s allegations and revealed that that his claims were false, court told the anchor that it was too late now to apologise.
The CJP reminded Dr Masood that in his programme he had said if his allegations are proved wrong he should be hanged.
The counsel of Dr Masood told the court that his client was prepared to do whatever he was asked to do. Dr Masood apologized twice to the court but the court refused to accept his apologies and CJP said "The time for an apology has now passed." The Judge further said that Dr Masood could continue contesting the case if he wished.
The CJP sought a reply from News One, adjourned the case until March 12.
While Dr Shahid Masood speaking to media outside the court said, that he still stands by the claim he made about Zainab’s murderer being involved in a child pornography ring and will not apologise for them.Dr Masood's counsel said that his client was prepared to do whatever the court asked of him. Following this, the anchorperson verbally apologised twice, but the court refused to accept his apologies.
"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.
The CJP said that justice would be served in the case, and sought a reply from TV channel News One, adjourning the case until March 12.
Imran Ali, who was convicted in the rape and murder of Zainab Amin by an Anti-terrorism Court in February had appealed to the Lahore High Court against the verdict that handed him death penalty on four counts, pleading not guilty to the offences.
Earlier this week, Imran Ali was formally nominated in the rape and murder cases of seven other children in Kasur, after an earlier DNA test of the suspect revealed his DNA was a match with samples recovered from the crime scenes in the seven cases prior to Zainab's.
The investigation officer probing the cases had told the ATC that the suspect kidnapped, raped and killed a total of eight girls over the last year or so.
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