Supreme Court of Pakistan in Islamabad, Photo by Khalid Mahmood/Wikimedia Commons
In a split judgement on a case seeking disqualification of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif due to secret offshore property, Pakistan’s Supreme Court has ordered the formation of a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to probe how the Sharif family’s money was transferred to Saudi Arabian, Qatar and Britain.
Two of the five judges on the bench ruled that Nawaz Sharif be disqualified while three judges favored formation of the JIT to carry out further investigation into the allegations against the Sharif family regarding ownership of Mayfair apartments and their concealment from the public and official records.
While supporters of Prime Minister Sharif celebrated the Court decision – which gives Sharif a breather from political pressure to quit – major opposition parties including Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and Pakistan Peoples Party sought immediate resignation of the prime minister on moral grounds since he would remain a subject of investigation.
PTI’s Imran Khan and PPP’s Asif Ali Zardari, both seeking to overturn the PML (N) of Nawaz Sharif in 2018 election, said the verdict proved their contention that the prime minister should leave the office.
But the ruling party appeared to be in no mood to give in to any of the political opponent’s demands. In a tweeted photo, the prime minister’s daughter, Maryam Nawaz, appeared to celebrate the judgement, with the Sharif brothers and supports greeting the Panamagate case with smiles and embraces.
The apex court bench, comprising Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, Justice Gulzar Ahmed, Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan, Justice Azmat Saeed and Justice Ijazul Ahsan, raised a series of questions about how the money was transferred for the purchase of apartments in London’s upscale area
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and sons Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Nawaz, will all be subject to JIT probe.
Prime Minister Sharif’s son-in-law Muhammad Safdar, a retired captain, and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar were the respondents in the case.
The PTI and other political parties filed the case following revelations in the Panama Papers, published by the International Consortium of Journalists on April 3, 2016, as ‘evidence’ that the premier had lied to the nation and concealed his assets.
The voluminous 540-page Supreme Court judgement is widely seen as strengthening suspicions about the money trail money trail for the Sharif family’s Gulf steel mill and ordered the JIT to investigate the letter from a Qatari royal ─ dismissed today by the bench ─ which was submitted by Sharif’s lawyer as evidence in the case.
On behalf of the ruling party, Defense Minister Khawaja Asif, said they will cooperate with the Joint Investigation Team.
“We are ready for all kinds of investigation,” Asif said. “It has been established today that any evidence or sacrifices given by our opponents in the SC were not enough. We have succeeded.”
On the other hand, Chairman Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaaf , Imran Khan termed the verdict historic.
“How can an investigation team comprising government officials investigate a sitting Prime Minister,” Imran Khan questioned.
