Panama case implementation hearing adjourned till Monday
June 15, 2017
ISLAMABAD: Proceedings of the special three-member Panama case implementation bench of the Supreme Court could not be held on Thursday as members of the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) failed to show up in court owing to the premier’s questioning by them today.
The hearing was then adjourned till Monday.
At the last hearing on Wednesday, the court had reserved its decision on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s son Hussain Nawaz's petition challenging the recording of the JIT proceedings and had also directed the attorney general (AG) to submit his response to the JIT’s report on ‘impediments’ faced by it.
The JIT is conducting a probe into the prime minister's family's international business assets.
At the last hearing, Hassan's counsel Khawaja Harris reiterated his client’s plea that the JIT proceedings should not be recorded on video.
Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan, who heads the bench, observed that recordings are carried out so as to maintain accurate transcripts, adding that the facts of the case are not being affected by the procedure. The nature of statements also does not change because of it, he commented further.
Justice Azmat Saeed Sheikh asked the AG if he has read the JIT’s report submitted in court on Monday, the AG replied in the negative.
The court then directed the AG to examine the JIT's complaints in detail and inform the bench at 11am on Thursday (today).
However, as the premier had been summoned for questioning by the JIT at the same time, the members of the high-profile probe team could not make it to court for the hearing.
Since Monday’s hearing, the JIT report was leaked to the media and stirred up a controversy as it accused the petitioner of having mala fide intentions and several government organisations of creating hurdles in the high-profile probe by tampering records and pressuring witnesses as well as the investigators.
The report cast the Prime Minister House, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, Federal Board of Revenue, Ministry of Law, Intelligence Bureau and National Accountability Bureau in a negative light by accusing them of impeding the investigation in various ways.
However, in separate statements, the relevant government departments and ministry rejected the charges levelled by the JIT.
