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The Supreme Court continued hearing the Panamagate case on Friday for the third consecutive day.
Naeem Bokhari, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf's (PTI) lead counsel alleged that the owner of the London flats is Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
Bokhari claimed the flats had been bought between 1993-1996, under the name of the premier's daughter, Maryam Nawaz, who he said was underage at the time.
The PTI's lead counsel claimed Maryam Nawaz was only made a beneficiary 'for show'. He added that the premier had gifted his daughter Rs37 million in 2011, and that gifts of over Rs30m were given in 2013.
Explore: PML-N papers: The Sharif family and the gifts they keep on giving
At the time of the purchase, Maryam Nawaz had no income of her own, he alleged.
Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, who was heading the larger bench hearing the case, cautioned the Sharif lawyers that if they were unable to establish ownership of Minerva Financial Services Limited, the court would have to 'imagine' that what PTI lawyers claim is true.
PTI has been trying to establish that Maryam Nawaz, and not her brother Hussain Nawaz as claimed by the party earlier, was the beneficial owner of Minerva which held Nescoll Limited and Nielson Enterprises Limited — the owners of the four London flats.
Read more: PML-N papers: Purchase of London flats and the Al-Thani connection
Justice Khosa warned those involved in the case that the court has the power to summon past records and should not be deemed powerless.
PTI counsel Naeem Bokhari submitted an interview given by Haroon Pasha, the prime minister's financial adviser, as evidence in court. Maryam Nawaz's reply was also submitted in court today.
The Supreme Court proposed calling members of the prime minister’s family to examine whether they would abide by the stance they had taken on four London flats in their previous statements, on Thursday.
The suggestion came when Bokhari sought the court’s permission to refer to a number of interviews given by the prime minister, his wife and children on different occasions to highlight that every member of the Sharif family had taken a divergent stand on the ownership of the properties in London’s Park Lane.
However, Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed said that calling the members of the PM’s family would come into play if the court decided to record their evidence in the Panamagate case, which it was not doing now.
The hearing has been adjourned until Monday, Jan 9.
Comments (57) Closed
Seems that this time JUSTISE may prevail.
Well done Imran Khan! :)
People of Pakistan anxiously waiting for justice to be done.
sounds too good to be true. And when it sounds too good to be true, it probably is
Like other muslim majority countries/dictatorships, it is a general perception that big wigs have never been taken to task here in our country. SC should/ may now reverse it unlike tamizuddin case which is a stain on its face.
The SCP bench headed by Justice Asif Khosa has an historic opportunity to do JUSTICE in this case which can change the course of the country. In the last 70 years and since 1947, Pakistan has suffered because of injustice - not one single big wig has ever been convicted for loot and plunder at the expense of the public
Nawaz shd resign!
Justice is what court decides not the the lawyer arguments. We all should have wait and accept with passion irrespective decision comes in either party favor!
'Badly trapped LBW'
From where i see they took the case to the point where it will be dismissed when owner Ship of Hussain Nawaz will be proven.
Once it will be proved the case will be dismissed with out further arguments that whether Hussain bought it from legitimate means or not.
All institutions like NAB,FBR,SECP,FIA even parliament/politicians and media / Anchors have been totally exposed. Now it is SC's Turn. Regarding panama issue no doubts remains in ppls mind.
it gets messier with every passing day. won't be that easy for the hon'ble SCP to leave it undecided.... really intriguing times ahead !
So the nation stands by as a silent spectator, leaving all the burden on IK's shoulder. Similar situation of overseas accounts , in Iceland, public came out in the streets, PM of Iceland resigned.
Sharif will come out clean,they have necessary documents but only wants to provide when and what court required otherwise media trial We know will happen who have no understanding of law
Its shocking how the PLMN members come on Pakistani TV and just deny everything and say PTI has not given any proof, completely disregarding the point that the burden of proof lies with them not PTI.
Hope the Pakistani public see through this
Is there a moral obligation for the so called leaders?
@sid totally agree . The properties belong to Sharif family they should provide how they acquired the properties .They should come clean on this the matter would be resolved very quickely
Contradiction in their interviews itself reeks of cover up and lies. If you cannot get your story straight, than you are only yourself to blame for loosing credibility.
Unable to understand people are only eager to point out the dishonesty and greed of their leaders.But no one seems to question their patriotism and that should be a matter of great concern. Some of the people (at least their children) governing the country have dual nationalities,reside and own expensive properties in London,New York,Dubal etc and millions of dollars in foreign banks.Thus they have created a safe heaven for themselves and will leave the country when the going gets tough. If you keep voting for them,please do not complain about their behavior .You deserve them.
Countries who have differen laws for the rich vs the poor and fails to hand out justice do not survive for long.
Khosa sahab you can change the destiny of Pakistan by ridding us of these leaders.
Fault lies with the Pakistani electorates who send such corrupt individuals to the Assemblies and allows them to rule over Jinnah's Pakistan. We all should be ashamed for our unholy behavior.
Spine is needed to act against the mighty. Let us wish Pakistan shows some guts.
@Latif khan Entire credit rightfully belongs to those who brought Panama papers to light. Imran Khan himself has some explaining to do for his offshore company which he had formed to save taxes from British government.
Perhaps justice will be done this time.
WE pray & hope that just for once the untouchables are brought to justice .... ??? It will change the whole scenario in Pakistan & every big fish or corrupt person will think twice before looting this poor nation ...
The lesson has to be learned that nobody is above the law.
@syed zafar kazmI U.S Why does that matter to you, he is allowed to under British law. The difference is NS has stolen from the poor of PK!
Salutes to IK for exposing the untouchables
'Behind every fortune there is a crime' Balzac
the other day i was wonder while watching tv that the way PMLN's Politicians shows up in front of media and talk against imran khan as if Imran Khan has done some very big mistake, and asking him to provide proof rather than asking internally Mr Nawaz to provide proof, well the biggest proof is that all these jiyala members of PMLN are trying to save corruption. what is this?? i am sure there must be a law if nawaz sharif found guilty then all these pmln men and woman should also be charged of taking sides with the one who is corrupt. todays is imran khan tomorrow if ordinary citizen write a letter to supereme court then will they start talking against that ordinary citizen.kis kis ka moun band karaoo gay
Day of reckoning is getting nearer.
@syed zafar kazmI U.S there is nothing wrong with offshore companies the problem is Shell companies which are there to hide ownership of companies. What Imran did many people in UK do it's not against the law. It simply saves you capital gains tax something Imran would not have to pay if he lived in the property.
@Amadeus "'Behind every fortune there is a crime' Balzac". 'Behind every crime there is a fortune'. Me. Vicious circle.
Perhaps we will be able to catch the big fish this time. Something that never happens in our beloved country. We only punish the poor and the powerless. May be we are rising as a nation!
What if Imran Khan had not taken up courageous stance? There is no other person / party in Pakistan other than IK/PTI who could have struggled this much. Others are just another Sharifs / Zardaris / Fazlus and Hussains.
Supreme Court of Pakistan must uphold justice and not let down the citizens' trust.
PM must know that denying the truth doesn't change the facts.
Since PM Nawaz said: Lying in parliament is politics. lying about assets and money laundry will not be punishable for rich and powerful in the country of Pakistan.
I don't understand this mumbo-jumbo of trustee/beneficiery etc. Why can't some one simply state the fact as to who is the 'owner' of those London Flats and and date of purchase for the same. Should one suspect that something is 'fishy' there?
The show goes on...
This case will become THE MOST high profile case ever in the history of Pakistan - IF justice is done - and IF PTI wins this one then next election is theirs - my prediction - take a screenshot of this comment now !
@zibbi and heavily fined and jailed if found lying
PM, you not the only one who took illegal money as other politicians have too BUT you can be the first one to admit and RETURN. By doing so, you will be remembered a good pm.
Let us finish this saga once and for all...Let us have them the entire country .Let them do what ever they want..There is no lite at the end of the tunnel...
@YAWAR.. sure... u want to bet...
Minerva Financial Services is probably a shell company for the Sharif family assets where most of the transactions are done with their own money.
lets wait WHEN THE DECISON IS ULTIMATELY GIVEN, before that lets just hope....nothing is confirmed so far...
Let the rich and famous face the music... the misdeeds, lies and corruption can go so far. There is a phenomenon called as Divine justice.
This is HISTORIC, Well done Imran Khan. Nation should thank him for exposing the most corrupt family in the history of Pakistan. Zardari is no match to them.
The bench should finalize and deliver order. No inquiry commission.
@Latif khan;
'Well done Imran Khan'
He hasn't done anything yet. The ball is still in the air, it may endup across the boundry, it may endup in a fielder's hands.
Imran Khan is the LONE fighter against corruption. Salute to the captain.
There is no way for PM except to resign from his PM ship. This is height of defamation for a stack holder and an insulting situation even it is half true or 10% true.
Panama case has been all along embrassing PM NS,initially PM played hide & seek with this case,by frequently visiting UK for pretended check ups. The IK lawyers and SC judges are extremely smart in reaching to facts prima facie,and it looks like as a Cat playing with dead Mice. SC can comfortably reserve the verdict,or anounce a short order, both situations will be unpleasant for Sharif family,better find a honest leader of house in prevailing grace period,and keep PML(N) intact. If precise decision not taken by PML(N) in time,it could become PPP Number Two.
It is impossible to get justice in this case as long as PML-N is in government. However, Panama papers revealed to common Pakistanis the real face of Sharif family, how they are concealing money using offshore companies and money laundering.
Unfortunately Pakistan has turned into a two family oligarchy who are above the law, maybe a third party can restore balance if allowed to, unfortunately this has a very slim chance of ever happening as the system has been fixed, in the favor of the power sharing arrangement between the power structures one cycle to the next. It is for the oligarchs by the oligarchs and that's it.