ISLAMABAB: The government filed in the Supreme Court on Tuesday a petition seeking day-to-day hearing of the Panama Papers leaks case to decide the matter during the current month.

It also promised to provide all the evidence sought by the apex court about offshore companies of the children of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, dependency of his daughter Maryam and whether or not the prime minister had spoken the truth in his statements.

The petition, submitted by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawyer Syed Riffat Hussain Shah, argued that pendency in the case was affecting the functioning of various organs of the state.

“We have requested the Supreme Court to start day-to-day hearing of the case so that it could be decided in December,” PML-N MNA Tallal Chaudhry said at a press conference along with Minister of State for Information Marriyum Aurangzeb and Information Technology Minister Anusha Rehman at the Press Information Department.

“We want to see its result this December so that the government can fully concentrate on its development activities in the next year,” he said.

Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali, who is heading a larger bench of the Supreme Court seized with the Panamagate case, will retire on Dec 31 and it is expected that the court will decide the case before his retirement.

The government’s petition said that the parties in the case had submitted their pleadings till Nov 15 and the arguments on behalf of the petitioners commenced on Nov 17, but these were not concluded and the hearing was adjourned again.

It said that due to pendency of the constitutional petition a vilifying campaign was continuing in the media and “speculative industry” was flourishing day by day. “Even otherwise, prolonged pendency of the instant constitutional petition would not be in the interest of justice,” it argued.

“In view of the paramount importance of the matter, which is affecting the functioning of various organs of the state, it would be in the interest of justice that the constitutional petition be heard day to day. It is, therefore, respectfully prayed that this august court may kindly be pleased to order day to day hearing of the above titled case until its conclusion,” the petition said.

Asked why the government wanted day-to-day hearing of the case, Tallal Chaudhry said: “We are confident about innocence of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his family members and know from where and how they have earned money.”

He said similar allegations about money laundering and establishing offshore companies had been levelled against the Sharif family in the early 1990s and during Gen Musharraf regime.

“Imran Khan wants to gain power through politics of agitation, but a new era has begun in Pakistan where politics will flourish, but not conspiracies,” he added.

Ms Aurangzeb said the prime minister’s lawyer would answer all the three questions asked by the apex court and would also provide evidence about them. She claimed that Imran Khan’s lawyer Naeem Bokhari had admitted before the apex court that he had no expertise in tax-related matters. Mr Bokhari lawyer was trying to find out contradictions in the prime minister’s speeches and statements, instead of providing evidences in the court, she said.

“Tomorrow a new lawyer will come to represent Imran Khan and restart the journey of lies and allegations,” she added.

The minister claimed that the government had provided concrete proof and documents in the court which reflected “complete truth”.

She said the judges had time and again asked the PTI lawyers to present evidence on the basis of which they were demanding resignation of the elected prime minister, but they failed to produce any evidence in this regard.

Ms Rehman said the prime minister’s lawyer had provided evidence regarding dependency of Maryam Nawaz.

Published in Dawn, December 7th, 2016