Panama Leaks Case: Live from Courtroom No2

ISLAMABAD: It was a 30-minute tea break when top leadership of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf came out of the closet in the Courtroom No 2, revealing their future strategy 'how to exploit the situation arising out of Panama Leaks in the Parliament in coming weeks.'

The Leaks’ issue is a boon for us, PTI Chairman Imran Khan told his colleagues on Wednesday, while sitting in a small hall of the apex court completely packed with more than 250 politicians, journalists, diplomats, legislatures, lawyers and supportive staff of judges on Wednesday.

“Panama Leaks and Zardari’s possible entry [to the National Assembly] are our boon companions—we will definitely enjoy the moment. For PML-N, we’ve slogan of Panama corruption and for PPP we have ‘Sary Mahel’ (Surrey Palace) and $60 million stashed through money laundering in Swiss Banks,” Khan said while sitting next to Jahangir Tareen who kept Jamat-e-Islami Chief Siraj-ul-Haq enganged during the course of proceedings.

PTI MNAs Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Dr Shireen Mazari were sitting behind Mr Khan and were speaking highly of Qamar Zaman Kaira and Aitzaz Ahsan of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) in particular who according to them were giving tough time to the government. But serious-looking Qureshi was of the view that PPP might review its decision before former President Zardari made his way to the Parliament.

PTI’s entire top leadership was sitting next to rostrum, whispering into one another’s ears while its lead lawyer Naeem Bukhari lasted his arguments for 170 minutes. The learned judges looked fresh and listened to Mr Bukhari’s arguments.

They even gave ample opportunity to Imran Khan and Sheikh Rashid of Pakistan Awami Muslim League to express their feelings on this issue.

Dozens of people could not enter into the heavily guarded courtroom, some of the visitors slightly scuffled with security officials. The noise interrupted Mr Bokhari who started his arguments with Qatri Prince’s letter written in favour of the Responded No 1—Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif—last year.

More than a dozen PML-N legislatures were also witnessing proceedings of this case where Attorney General of Pakistan Ashtar Ausaf Ali was taking notes sitting next to Makhdoom Ali Khan, Counsel for Premier Sharif who was ordered by Justice Khosa to produce year-based-profile of his client’s public offices since 1980.

Wearing black shalwar kameez with equally black muffler and upper, Mr Khan kept reciting Tasbih and expressed happiness when the court decided to hear Panama
case daily.

During the course of proceedings, MNAs Talal Chaudhry and Danial Aziz looked quite busy in coordinating with the Sharifs’ legal team. Salman Akram Raja, Counsel for Hussain Nawaz, witnessed proceedings, sitting on one of the chairs fixed to the second row, some ten feet away from windows.

Tough questions were asked by learned judges where Justice Khosa in particular kept Naeem Bukhari engaged asking him 'to remain to the point while presenting his arguments’.

Then a moment came which put judges in deep conservation with each other, perhaps they were trying to understand the complicated money trails directly link to Gulf Steel Mill, Jeddah, Doha and then finally in London.  A plethora of documents, already submitted by the respondents and the petitions before the court last year, helped PTI’s lead counsel to present well-articulated arguments before the five-member-bench led by Justice Khosa. 

But judges put a key question before PTI’s counsel to establish that the Sharifs owned properties prior to 2006 in London. Sitting next to Imran Khan, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Sheikh Rashid and Raza Khan, this correspondent could witness Shahid Hamid taking notes. Mr Hamid is representing Maryam Nawaz and her spouse MNA Cap (retd) Mohammad Safdar sitting next to Makhdoom Ali Khan.

A large number of people witnessed the whole proceedings without any chair. Before the final moment approached in the Courtroom, Imran Khan made a slip of tongue telling judges that “the opposition’s only job is to allege the government”.