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Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan speaking to journalists after a Supreme Court (SC) hearing on Monday raised questions about the timeline of ownership of the Sharif family's Mayfair properties.
"We won't do anything that may affect Supreme Court proceedings," the PTI chief claimed. "But today... They [the Sharif's] said they bought their Mayfair apartments in 2006 and didn't have them before that."
However, "Kulsoom Nawaz gave an interview in 2000 saying they got the apartments for their children's education," he claimed.
"Chaudhry Nisar said they got them in the '90s. Khawaja Asif said they got them in the '90s. Siddique Farooq said he went there in the '90s. They said they visited them. Did they go to some other apartment? They must all be wrong... Sheikh Rasheed went there before 2006 too. Maybe he was mistaken also," the PTI chief alleged.
"I am now embarrassed because in 1998, I protested outside their Mayfair apartments. If they weren't theirs, I don't know whose residence I protested outside. I would like to beg their pardon," he said. "If they weren't Nawaz Sharif's whose were they?"
The PTI chief also expressed his satisfaction with court proceedings.
"I am very happy that the SC decided they have to submit all documents by Tuesday... They [the government] said 'we are ready with all the evidence, we are ready for accountability and so is [Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's] family', but after seven months, they are still not ready and have asked for two more weeks to submit all their papers," he said.
"I am happy the SC doesn't want to drag on the case and wishes to conclude it quickly," he said.
"The SC asked four questions and said, 'If you can answer these questions there may not be need for any commission and the judge may decide the case in two hearings."
"For seven months, the PM didn't respond," he said. "They said we [the PTI] are doing the wrong thing, but it is his [the PM's] responsibility to either resign or present himself for accountability. There is no third option in democracy," the PTI chief claimed.
"They have kept the country hostage on this one issue for seven months," he said.
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Comments (98) Closed
Nov 07, 2016 02:16pm
IK is very right and no one can hide the truth.
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Nov 07, 2016 02:20pm
I lived in London and seen Sharif's living in these flat from 1993 onwards....They r the owner of these flat. The poverty, no jobs in Pakistan is because of this corruption from these corrupt leaders
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Nov 07, 2016 02:19pm
It is Bitter Truth. Govt's answer would be IK is destabilizing Democracy and inviting 3rd force.
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Nov 07, 2016 02:25pm
Its astonishing that it has taken seven months to get to this stage and SC is involved. Submitting documents relating to purchase of property is a simple procedures which every legitimate owner in UK has in their possession, unless of course you have something to hide. Loans acquired and transfer of funds once again is a simple procedure and anyone with legitimate business should be able to provide a paper trail at short notice. However, what is difficult is that if you wish to hide something then you have to create confusion, complicate the transactions and hide them under pseudo companies. If the Sharif's business was legitimate then this could be verified in very few documents, deeds for properties, bank statements, loan agreements and company ownership documents, it is as simple as that.
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Nov 07, 2016 02:25pm
@sOHAIL Absolutely truth. Corruption is the root cause of many problems in Pakistan
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Nov 07, 2016 02:25pm
Remember, in order to hide one lie, you have to lie ten times, which is what is happening here.
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Nov 07, 2016 02:35pm
@sOHAIL Continue living there, leave the Pakitani matter with more competent Pakistani Courts
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Nov 07, 2016 02:40pm
@M Jamal We are waiting for the truth, for IK as well. lets wait and watch
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Nov 07, 2016 02:39pm
IK is so unknowing; He didn't know he was protesting outside somebody else apartment. He should be apologize now from the flat owners.
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Nov 07, 2016 02:47pm
@ Truth: He's not disputing the courts.. as overseas pakistanis, we probably care and contribute more about pakistan than you might think.. The colossal damage these people have done to Pakistan is beyond your shady comprehension.
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Nov 07, 2016 02:50pm
I think the applicants (i.e. IK's legal team) need to instruct a forensic accountant based in the UK and provide all the evidence they have to him/her. A competent forensic accountant could then look at the evidence and prepare an expert report for the court setting out clearly/chronologically what the evidence shows and where there is limited information the report should then highlight those areas. The forensic accountant could then appear as an expert witness and give testimony in court.
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Nov 07, 2016 02:53pm
Good IK bring them to accountabiliy they cannot run now
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Nov 07, 2016 02:55pm
Are we seeing the demise of the NS Govt ? I still doubt. BUT well played IK.
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Nov 07, 2016 02:57pm
@XYZ Based on your grammer and rationale I can safely guess that you are a PMLN supporter.
"IK is so unknowing; He didn't know he was protesting outside somebody else apartment. He should be apologize now from the flat owners"
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Nov 07, 2016 03:02pm
@Truth you are obviously not interested in Truth as you claim to be.
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Nov 07, 2016 03:03pm
@XYZ I think he was being sarcastic, try and understand what he is trying to say.
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Nov 07, 2016 03:13pm
IK said after November 2 there will be new Pakistan and asked CM to go back when he was coming to fulfill his dream.
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Nov 07, 2016 03:15pm
@XYZ Were you paying their rent?
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Nov 07, 2016 03:18pm
@Amjad Is it must to mention your locality to contribute to the nation....
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Nov 07, 2016 03:20pm
@Truth The truth has always been known to almost everyone in Pakistan; not only about NS, but also about AAZ and others. But might being right has all along forced all concerned Govt institutions to keep their mouths shut.
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Nov 07, 2016 03:29pm
@Dr Nadim..I believe XYZ was being sarcastic :)
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Nov 07, 2016 03:29pm
I was at university in LOndon with Hussein in 1994. It was common knowledge that he lived in the apartments in park lane. Must have been hard for him, studting for a degree and running a million pound business. Wonder where he got the funds to start that business. I have trouble getting a £500 overdraft.
Anyway, what a genius, we should give him an award or something.
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Nov 07, 2016 03:34pm
If living in the UK is OK, if getting education there is OK, if going there for holidays is OK, why on earth owning a property over there is not OK?
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Nov 07, 2016 03:38pm
Too much evidences are available regarding the ownership of flats in the 90's. Even if they somehow manage to show them as 'rented' properties prior to their claim of purchase in 2005, there is a documentary evidence as the very properties were pledged in Hudaibiya Mill's loan repayment case in U.K in 1999. A U.K court document where these properties were pledged will be an 'irrefutable' evidence. They need to team up with Deutche Bank, Mossac Fonseca & U.K legal Authorities to alter the evidence. No other way is possible.
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Nov 07, 2016 03:39pm
Its not hard to get ownership papers from UK land registry with history of owners, these details can be obtain via website nowadays. Internet and Technology made life much easier for honest and hard working people
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Nov 07, 2016 03:43pm
First wicket of blame from PTI regarding showing Maryam Nawaz has already fallen when this is endorsed by A.F Ferguson that the return is correct and due to technical reason plot showed ind dependent column. Now IK is not talking about it!
Second PTI was expecting today PMLN will submit excuse or will not be able to submit family responses but it is not happened.
I read TORs submitted by PTI and PMLN as unable to understand are they really serious about corruption...as per their TORs if NS and family punished than corruption will end in Pakistan, and no more inquiries will require from rest of offshore companies holders.
IK had offered that I myself is ready for every inquiry and even start from me...but now no any such gesture found in TORs where he also to have asked to have parallel investigation from other accused even belongs to PTI or any political party.
Perhaps PPP is missing that there is also name of Benazir in Panama papers!
We really will see the 'Justice'?
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Nov 07, 2016 03:45pm
I have too have studied in London and have been to these flats, they are owned by Nazwaz, 1000%, no doubt there.
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Nov 07, 2016 03:48pm
What saddens me more is the this corruption is supported by the so called western democracies. Now here UK has allowed corruption to flourish. They have allowed such people to come to their land, settle down, and bring their ill gotten wealth to purchase properties and invest in their land.
Why did not they ask these corrupt leaders to explain where and how they got this wealth?
Someone should ask the UK government why they allowed this?
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Nov 07, 2016 03:50pm
@Worth_Commenting Are you being sarcastic too??
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Nov 07, 2016 04:03pm
@Love Your Country All ok, the point is how the money was earned & by whom to own that property in UK & how was the money sent to UK to buy those properties. Was taxes paid on those money before sending to UK, are some of the relevant questions. What was money earned during the period of 1990s to 1999 & how much taxes paid. What was declared in election form in 2008 & 2013, all these questions are relevant to come decide if NS is qualified to lead this country or lied ?
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Nov 07, 2016 04:04pm
@Love Your Country Because it is NS' kids and NOT IK's or his kids....
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Nov 07, 2016 04:05pm
Its a high time for both parties. Whoever could produce more documentary evidence will win the match.
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Nov 07, 2016 04:06pm
@saif if you meant Nawaz then you must have seen the documents and may have the copies, rush to submit to the court....it will be a blessing in disguise...
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Nov 07, 2016 04:09pm
@Amir The answer to your valid question is to feed the system and the requirements of the (man made) very expensive economy.
No one won't ask and No one should ask, until some untoward incident happen and then they wake up to trace the financing...
Other than that it is all ok, the reserves are getting bigger is the notion
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Nov 07, 2016 04:10pm
Search for Hussain Nawaz interview to bbc hardtalk in 1999. Interviewer grills him about the apartment and asks him who owns it.
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Nov 07, 2016 04:11pm
These corrupt leaders have been caught time and time again telling lies about this property, are they not even slightly realize that the whole world is watching them lie? Do they even think about the people who are defending them, the very people that themselves know that their leader is lying..
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Nov 07, 2016 04:13pm
@Dr Nadim, Categorizing people based on their English proficiency level is lame. And what is more ironic is that English is not even our first language. I may not agree with @XYZ views but that does not mean that I belittle him in a public forum by picking on his English. Have you ever seen Chinese, Japanese or Europeans conversing in English in their own countries?
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Nov 07, 2016 04:16pm
There's been millions of investment in Turkey in last 5 years from Nawaz and family .
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Nov 07, 2016 04:22pm
@Love Your Country No problems if you buy that property by not looting your motherland and via money laundering. We are only asking to tell the truth and provide all the information. Sharifs seem to be telling different things at different times to create confusion. I live in UK and Sharifs just need to get documents from land registry in UK and prove to everybody once for an all that these properties were bought in 2006 and show the money trail. Simple and job done.
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Nov 07, 2016 04:25pm
If supreme court does not investigate the corruption charges on PM with due responsibility then people faith on justice will run out.
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Nov 07, 2016 04:26pm
@Pak-Kiwi The problem is, the flats were owned by the nominee directors of Nescoll & Nielsons, the shell companies formed by Mossac Fonseca on behalf of Sharifs. To prove the legal ownership, the court needs the documents provided by the legal firm ascertaining the 'Real Owners'. How a legal firm in Panama, whose very job is' hiding the identity of the real owners' will respond to the 'beyond the jurisdiction' court decision is a real test.
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Nov 07, 2016 04:32pm
It is possible that were not in the name of PM or his kids then. Could be in the name of PM father or someone else. Let's wait what they said
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Nov 07, 2016 04:32pm
@saif There is no "1000%" and I doubt you have even seen a photo of London.
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Nov 07, 2016 04:37pm
@Love Your Country buying property in the UK is ok, as long as i buy it using my money, not yours
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Nov 07, 2016 04:37pm
@Yaser Arafat
What a stupid statement, if I tell my accountant I earn I earn a 100 rupees a year, then that is what he will put down but that doesn't mean I earn a 100 rupees, The accountant is not an auditor.
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Nov 07, 2016 04:38pm
Watch & listen carefully, ppl who are supporting PMLN : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShojccRJI8w
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Nov 07, 2016 04:46pm
@Truth. Truth is, there is nothing in this Truth but truth and Truth shall continue to to write the Truth with the perception that he is writing the Truth.
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Nov 07, 2016 04:47pm
Imran Khan reiterated on several ocasions the corruption case against sharifs family is an open and shut case means corruption has been proved thru solid evidence.
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Nov 07, 2016 04:47pm
@Dr Nadim Fully agree Dr. Nadim. My reaction also.
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Nov 07, 2016 04:53pm
@Pak-Kiwi I think you will find ownership of properties were changed by share transfers of companies in Panama not by actually selling properties. UK land records will show exchange of ownership between x & Sharifs companies in 1993/4.
British Virgin Island only started to register ownerships after 9/11 to keep an eye on money laundering hence Maryam's beneficial ownership declaration that came to light in PanamaLeaks
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Nov 07, 2016 05:03pm
@Love Your Country : to answer your question, owning property in the UK is no crime as long as you have made money the old-fashioned way: you have *earned* it.
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Nov 07, 2016 05:09pm
This man will never be satisfied unless Sharif is send out by HOOK or by CROOK
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Nov 07, 2016 05:12pm
I hope SC may be able to decide once for all.
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Nov 07, 2016 05:17pm
@Forensic accountant Compare natural death with homicide. For the former you do not forensic experts to determine cause of death but for the latter you do. Same goes to determine the ownership of the flats. If it is up and up get the deed to the property and it should give you the owners name and details; if not, then you know there was intent of malice by the purchaser even two decades ago.
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Nov 07, 2016 05:19pm
Dear People, please do not forget that Nawaz Sharif is an Industrialist . If he has money then what is the problem? Unfortunately in Pakistan people think that he has gained his wealth only by unfair means. This should be investigated by an independent tribune (is that even possible ?) , but he should not be declared dishonest upfront! Unfortunately in Pakistan all the ex heads of state have to take refuge in some other country once they finish their term. The same would happen with him again once he finishes his term.
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Nov 07, 2016 05:22pm
Let the honourable judges decide. No need to be judgemental.
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Nov 07, 2016 05:53pm
@Leo innocent until proven guilty..
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Nov 07, 2016 05:53pm
Today Imran Khan fully achieve his goals. Not his goals but whole nation's goals.
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Nov 07, 2016 05:54pm
@Cyrus who is writing what?
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Nov 07, 2016 05:58pm
@Karim USA I take your point. I think that one of the key issues here is that of timing (i.e. Who owned what and when). For example, Maryam Safder may well not be the named beneficiariary of the properties at this point in time as claimed by her, but that doesn't mean that she wasn't the beneficiary back in the 90's or whenever. So, what a forensic accountant could do is obtain publicly available documentation from the companies house and examine other available evidence and comment upon any change in ownership over a period of time. If documents show, also comment on how the transactions were funded. What forensic evidence do is simply the evidence for court to decide.
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Nov 07, 2016 06:00pm
If Hassan and Husain at that young age initiated from nothing and nurtured millions pound business at that age then I think Lums and IBA should include this success story in their curriculum as a case study. How genious they are.
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Nov 07, 2016 06:01pm
@Love Your no one object on those properties, our objection is on the source of income
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Nov 07, 2016 06:03pm
@Leo
No doubt that Sharif family is part of industrialist elite. The problem arises when the head of the family and the current prime minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan announces in parliament that his family purchased some properties in 2006, and yet there is substantial evidence to suggest that those properties were owned by Sharif family from much earlier.
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Nov 07, 2016 06:15pm
I hope IK goes into the court and presents some firm evidence, which he claims he has. As per his previous track record on 35 punctures etc, he just claims on hearsay rather than any solid proof. He should admit that he does not have any proof but prime minister must be able to justify his wealth. I can forsee another embarisment for IK but does he care! On the other hand, PM should present complete details of tax returns etc in court and accepts if the decision comes against him. We as common citizens should waite for decision instead of issuing our own verdicts as if we all are angels around and have been paying all taxes voluntary !
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Nov 07, 2016 06:20pm
In USA you can get the record of property all previous owners online. why can they make this in London. I am sure they can expedite that request for day and so.
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Nov 07, 2016 06:29pm
@Adi
Anywhere else in the civilised world, a sitting PM would have to justify something like this.
Not in Pakistan.
There is more than sufficient circumstantial evidence against the PM for the relevant institutions to start an investigation.
Not in Pakistan.
Whether something happens in Pakistan or not, I can tell you something. The PM of Pakistan no longer seems to be welcom in London. There is ample evidence of this on social media. Let us see if Mr Sharif takes any action against any Londoner. Probably not because as someone from the organisation who was behind Panama leaks once said that the PM would first have to justify the means by which those flats were bought if he was to sue the organisation. Did the PM ever Sue them?
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Nov 07, 2016 06:42pm
Now those are some sensible backing statements.
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Nov 07, 2016 06:48pm
I have no doubt that some transfer did occur in 2006 regarding those london flats. I'm willing to bet my last penny that it was something akin to gift transfer or simply change of the company ownership. The key question should be who owned these properties beforehand and how come Hassan nawaz was using one of those flats as his main address in 2001/2 as indicated by publicly available companies house documents.
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Nov 07, 2016 07:09pm
He protested in front of his very own apartment :) no need to apologize. Sharif has a very big heart.
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Nov 07, 2016 07:36pm
Imran Khan, get over it. That was 1996 and today is 2016. We are now 20 years from an event that has no effect on our living. Nawaz Shariff was a rich man in 1996 and he is a rich man today. What matters is the work he is doing for Pakistan now. And you may not like him but he is doing a fantastic job now. If he continues to do, what he has done in three short years now then in the next 20 years we will all say, we need someone like him now.
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Nov 07, 2016 07:43pm
@XYZ -Dumy, He is just pretending that he doesn't know!
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Nov 07, 2016 07:47pm
Imran Khan you are right but in our country you will get justice only on streets as institutions with power will do nothing about it.
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Nov 07, 2016 08:03pm
@Vikas Rehman : You are right. But you know that this is how businessmen do business in both our countries. On books he must have purchased it later! It's difficult to prove it wrong.
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Nov 07, 2016 08:06pm
@Vikas Rehman : yes, I understand , please ignore my last comment :)
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Nov 07, 2016 08:07pm
@Scary : Very well said! Greetings from India.
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Nov 07, 2016 08:16pm
IK did a very crucial spell today and push NS on back foot. IK seems now on the driving seat.....
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Nov 07, 2016 08:17pm
There are hundreds of known cases on N. Sharif's. The only difference in this case is this that, this time N.Sharif has to prove he didn't do any corruption.
In all other prior cases, government agencies like FIA, NAB had to prove that N. Sharif's did corruption. We recently learned in this court proceedings that FIA and NAB said they don't have Jurisdiction/Authority to investigate N. Sharif. Our Pakistani law makers have approved laws that says FIA and NAB can't investigate their corruptions. Unbelievable. Only in Pakistan democracy this is possible. Why no one keep checks on the laws these corrupt people are passing to protect themselves?
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Nov 07, 2016 08:23pm
One can live in an apartment and continue to pay mortgage without owning it. I think what Sharif meant that they owned the apartment (making the end of mortgage payment) in 2006. Before that Bank owns the apartment and they were paying mortgage.
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Nov 07, 2016 08:36pm
@sOHAIL what a simple world view.
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Nov 07, 2016 08:37pm
Ownership record in the west is well documented - truth will come out soon.
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Nov 07, 2016 08:38pm
@salman There is a novel concept called renting.
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Nov 07, 2016 08:43pm
IK is 100% right.
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Nov 07, 2016 08:52pm
If you have a property in London, it must be paid for its British Government taxes, which must have records.
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Nov 07, 2016 08:57pm
@Awais Ali Do you call it Democracy?
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Nov 07, 2016 09:08pm
@Ths your ource and proof?/
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Nov 07, 2016 09:11pm
@Love Your Country nobody is saying owning property is not ok The question is how was the money obtained, how was it transferred and where the assets declared and all taxes paid
you too seem to trying to muddy the waters or don't understand the real issues yet
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Nov 07, 2016 09:12pm
If there was no wrong doing, than why has it taken a petition for Nawaz Sharif and family to come forward? Its all about accountability, its as simple as that. If you haven't done anything wrong, you would think the family would present itself in a manner where no one would question their intentions. But here we are, seven months and counting. I do not agree with IK on many issues but he is asking the right questions, the people of Pakistan are looking for justice, will justice be served? Time will tell.
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Nov 07, 2016 09:13pm
@jahaz my friend there IS 1000% What i means is ten times
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Nov 07, 2016 09:38pm
@kanwarch It seems properties did not changed ownership but its owner ie the companies changed ownership on paper within Sharif family in when companies were managed by Swiss legal firm and subsequently in Panama . As companies are registered in BVI they run under British law so beneficial ownership as shown in leaked documents leads us to Maryam. Unlike UK shareholders of private companies in Panama there is no record kept by Panamian Govt Therefore it will not be difficult to produce record of share ownership as one wishes.
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Nov 07, 2016 09:44pm
Living in an apartment doesn't necessarily mean owning it. I am living in a hired house for so many years and I may now buy it too.
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Nov 07, 2016 11:16pm
@salman He is so under appreciated. Zuckerberg of today is nothing in front of this guy in the 90s. Perhaps the "business acumen" runs in the "genes". Young geniuses all them kids in the family. I only thought Richie Rich was young and rich but apparently not!!
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Nov 07, 2016 11:18pm
PTI and IK have done their job and now the supreme court is looking into the issue. Perhaps it's time for them to focus on the upcoming elections in March 2018 and get their intra party elections conducted.
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Nov 08, 2016 12:04am
@Scary
Around 1996, a final year dentistry student at a UK university was kicked out of the course because he had misled the university about his A Level results. The fact that he was a star student did not factor when they made that decision.
Nawaz Sharif may have been a rich man in 1996 but his tax returns around that time do not verify that fact. He may even be the most honest person in Pakistan right now but does this mean that any of his past wrongdoings should be ignored? If yes, then that is sending the wrong message to the rest of the country, i.e. one can make money by any means today as long as he/she becomes the star citizen tomorrow.
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Nov 08, 2016 12:20am
@Shaukat Ali Khan
That's true. But if you are living in UK, you should be able to show where the money for the rent was coming from or how you were paying the rent.
I first rented a flat in 1994 and, if required, I could provide all the evidence within a week. Hassan Nawaz said in a BBC interview in 1999 that he was living in rented accommodation (one of the Mayfair apartments) and that the rent money was coming from Pakistan on quarterly basis. It should be pretty easy to clarify the transfer and hopefully we will see Sharif family presenting appropriate evidence in the Supreme Court.
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Nov 08, 2016 03:44am
My very good friend's wife, who is from a prominent Kashmiŕi busìness family of Lahore, recently said she had attended a get togather at these flats hosted by Kulsum Nawaz in mid 1990s. And she described the immense size of the rooms, each bèing equal to the groùnd floor area of añ average London house.
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Nov 08, 2016 04:07am
In the eyes of the court only concrete evidence (without the shadow of the doubt) matters. No innuendos or implied jests are entertained.
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Nov 08, 2016 04:45am
@Amjad Totally agree, what do these keyboard warriors know.. I actually hate the term 'overseas pakistanis' we are pakistanis by birth and by our nationality and just because we are dual citizens, it does not mean we are any less pakistanis than those living there.
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Nov 08, 2016 12:08pm
@Truth - I get it now, thanks a lot. Why don't our public get it?
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