ISLAMABAD: The formation of a commission to probe the Panama Leaks issue was delayed till May 1 on Saturday as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali left for Turkey on a visit.
Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, the most senior judge of the Supreme Court, took oath as acting Chief Justice of Pakistan in the absence of Justice Jamali. The oath was administered by Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa in a ceremony held here at the Supreme Court.
Justice Mian Saqib Nisar will act as chief justice during the period Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali remains abroad i.e. till May 1.
The ceremony was attended by judges of the Supreme Court, the chief justice and judges of the Federal Shariat Court, chief justice and judges of the Islamabad High Court (IHC), Attorney General of Pakistan, senior lawyers and officers of the Federal Judicial Academy and Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan.
Agencies add: Talking to journalists outside the Supreme Court, Justice Mian Saqib Nisar ruled out any decision about Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s letter to the Supreme Court regarding the formation of a judicial commission on the Panama Leaks.
Refusing to make any comments on the Panama Leaks, which have put a spotlight on the offshore wealth of the Sharif family and other Pakistanis, Justice Saqib Nisar said Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali would decide about the commission on his return from Turkey and he is not authorised to do so.
"The letter has been addressed to the permanent chief justice," he explained.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court Judge Justice Dost Muhammad has remarked that the commission on the Panama Leaks was the demand of 200 million people.
Talking to a private news channel, the judge observed that the government and opposition parties’ attitude about the inquiry commission on the Panama Leaks was not balanced. He said the opposition was point-scoring on the formation of the commission.
Justice Dost Muhammad said Pakistan has given us everything. “The system is not robust due to a lack of continuation in democracy. The continuity of the electoral process works as filter,” he observed.
The judge said the government has broadened the scope of the terms of reference in respect of the inquiry commission. “If an accuser is a thief, then investigation should be conducted against him too. The probe into the Panama leaks is the right of 200 million people and no one can snatch away this right,” he said.—Originally published in The News