Panama leaks case: Why NAB didn't initiate probe, asks SC
The case hearing is underway.
ISLAMABAD (Web Desk) – While taking up a case regarding the Panama Papers leaks, the Supreme Court on Tuesday questioned the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) inactivity to initiate probe into the matter.
A five-member larger bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali started hearing of petitions on Panama Papers.
Former attorney-general Salman Aslam Butt is representing Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz, Ishaq Dar and Capt Safdar in the case.
The petitions filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Jamaat-e-Islami and Pakistan Awami Muslim League pray the apex court to disqualify the Prime Minister for concealing details of his assets.
During the case hearing, Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali said NAB was formed to eliminate corruption in the country. It is NAB’s duty to investigate the matter, but why no action has been taken yet.
Justice Azmat Saeed remarked that some people approached NAB with evidence, but still nothing has been done in this regard.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has been under pressure since documents released as part of the Panama Papers data leak showed his children owned several off-shore companies and used them to buy properties in London. He denies wrongdoing, as do his children.
READ: Those demanding accountability have their own offshore companies: PML-N
The opposition has seized on the Panama Papers scandal as a fresh opportunity to try to unseat Sharif, who told parliament that his wealth was acquired legally in the decades before he entered politics and no money was siphoned off-shore.
PTI chairman Imran Khan has vowed to “shut down” Islamabad on November 2, demanding PM Nawaz to either step down or present himself for accountability for his alleged involvement in Panama Papers scandal.
