Ahsan Iqbal asks Justice Azmat to recuse from Broadsheet commission

Dunya News

Ahsan Iqbal was addressing a ceremony in Lahore.

LAHORE (Dunya News) – Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Ahsan Iqbal on Saturday called upon former Supreme Court judge Justice Azmat Saeed Sheikh to recuse himself from the Broadsheet inquiry commission.

Former Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal, while addressing a ceremony, said that Justice (retd) Azmat Saeed who is a former employee of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) is now investigating the same anti-graft watchdog.

He further said that PML-N’s objections are not personal but simply highlighting the conflict of interest.

Also read: Govt issues appointment notification of Azmat Saeed to probe Broadsheet scandal

On the other hand, the federal government has issued a notification concerning constitution of a one-man commission comprising Justice (retd) Sheikh Azmat Saeed, a former judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, to probe the Broadsheet scandal.

The appointment has been made under Section 3 of the Pakistan Commissions of Inquiry Act, 2017, subject to the following Terms of Reference:

a) To examine the process of selection and appointment of Trouvons LLC, Broadsheet LLC, and International Asset Recovery Limited (‘IAR’) and execution of Agreements in the year 2000.

b) To examine the circumstances, reasons and effect of cancellation of Agreements with Broadsheet LLC and IAR in 2003.

c) To identify and determine the reasons and effect of settlement and payments made on behalf of Pakistan to IAR and Broadsheet LLC in 2008, and whether the payments made were justified.

d) To identify the persons or officials responsible for making wrong payment of USD 1.5 million to the wrong person in the year 2008 which was not entitled to receive such payment.

e) To identify as to whether the arbitration proceedings before the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) and subsequent appeal before the High Court of Justice in London regarding Broadsheet LLC were conducted diligently and efficiently.

Also read: Justice (r) Azmat Saeed was part of conspiracy against an elected govt, alleges Maryam

While referring to Panama Leaks case against ex-Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) vice president Maryam Nawaz on Wednesday has alleged that Justice (r) Azmat Saeed was part of conspiracy against the then elected government.

Talking to media after meeting Khokhar brothers at their house, Maryam Nawaz has advised Justice (r) Azmat Saeed to step down as the head of an inquiry committee probing Broadsheet scandal. The government of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) will not succeeded in dividing the opposition parties, she stressed.