LAHORE: A Lahore High Court Bar Association’s (LHCBA’s) general house meeting sought on Friday a fair accountability of those named in the Panama leaks about offshore companies, including Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and a judge of the high court.

The house passed three identical resolutions on the matter of Panama papers and also announced constituting a committee to probe into alleged corrupt practices by the son of a senior Supreme Court judge.

Lawyers Allah Bakhsh Gondal, Raheel Kamran Cheema and Malik Zeeshan Ahmad moved the resolutions demanding a fair and free accountability of all politicians, judges, army officers, bureaucrats and others accused in Panama papers for establishing offshore companies.

LHCBA President Rana Zia Abdul Rehman, secretary Anas Ghazi, former presidents of the bar Abid Saqi and Ahmad Awais, Supreme Court Bar Association President Ali Zafar and secretary Asad Manzoor Butt, Asma Jahangir, Azam Nazir Tarar and others spoke.

They said the Panama leaks had exposed offshore company of Justice Farrukh Irfan Khan of the LHC but no action had been taken against him so far. They said the Supreme Judicial Council should take action against the judge under Article 209 of the Constitution.

They said revelation of the judge’s offshore company had brought a bad name to the institution of judiciary. They urged the LHC chief justice to not entrust judicial work to Justice Khan and asked the lawyers to stop appearing before his court till the judge did not get him cleared of the charges.

The speakers also expressed concerns over ‘rude’ behaviour of LHC judges with young lawyers. The house passed the resolutions unanimously and demanded an immediate inquiry into the allegations of offshore companies maintained by rulers and their family members and any individuals irrespective of their offices.

Published in Dawn, May 7th, 2016