PM Nawaz's fate hangs in balance as SC to announce verdict shortly
The decision will be announced in the Supreme Court at 11:30 am today (Friday).
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Supreme Court of Pakistan will announce its verdict in the Panama Papers leaks case involving Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his family today (Friday), Dunya News reported.
The five-judge larger bench of the Supreme Court headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa and comprising Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan, Justice Gulzar Ahmed, Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed and Justice Ijaz-ul-Ahsan will announce the decision at 11.30 am in courtroom No 1.
The decision had been reserved on July 21 after the three-member executionary bench comprising Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed, Justice Ejaz Afzal and Justice Ijaz ul-Hassan heard the arguments of both the parties on Joint Investigation Team and reserved the decision.
The decision will be announced by the original 5-member bench comprising the 3-member executionary bench along with Justice Asif Saeed Khosa and Justice Gulzar.
On April 20, Justice Asif Saeed Khosa had announced Panama Leaks case decision comprising 540 pages, saying that the court issued a split ruling calling for a JIT. Two of the five judges went further, branding Sharif "dishonest" and saying he should be disqualified, but they were outnumbered.
The court formed six-member inquiry team that included Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) Additional Director General Wajid Zia, Military Intelligence’s Brig Kamran Khurshid, National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) Director Irfan Naeem Mangi, State Bank of Pakistan’s Amer Aziz, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan’s (SECP) Executive Director Bilal Rasool and Inter-Services Intelligence’s Brig Muhammad Nauman Saeed.
The JIT members during the seven-week period interrogated eight members of Sharif family including Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif, his younger brother Shehbaz Sharif, sons Hassan and Hussain Nawaz, daughter Maryam Nawaz, son-in-law Captain Safdar, cousin Tariq Fazal Chaudhry and brother-in-law Ishaq Dar and submitted its report on July 10.
As the six-member JIT submitted its final report before SC on July 10, a three member bench comprising Ejaz Afzal Khan, Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed and Justice Ijaz-ul-Ahsan then heard the case for five days during which counsel of the petitioners and respondents presented their arguments on different aspects of the JIT report.
Here is a look at how the events unfolded after the formation of Joint Investigation Team (JIT) by Supreme Court on April 20, 2017.
Panama Papers had published a leak of documents belonging to Mossack Fonseca, a law firm in April 2016 creating uproar in Pakistan among other countries. The leak was studied by International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and stated names of incumbent as well as former leaders of the world who owned shell companies.
PM Nawaz was not named in the leak but his two sons and daughter were.
Opposition parties in Pakistan saw offshore companies owned by daughter and two sons of PM Nawaz as means to either stash wealth in foreign accounts or purchase assets abroad, launder money out of Pakistan and evade taxes.
The top court took up the case in October last year on petitions filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Awami Muslim League and Jamaat-e-Islami.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman Imran Khan, Jamaat-e-Islami head Siraj-ul-Haq and Awami Muslim League chief Sheikh Rashid Ahmad and PPP leaders will go to the apex court to hear the verdict.
According to reports, State Minister for Information, Marriyum Aurangzeb will also go to the Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, Islamabad Police have chalked out foolproof security arrangements. Large contingents of police and Rangers will be deployed inside and outside the Supreme Court premises on the occasion for security purpose.
