ISLAMABAD: With the hearing of the Panama Paper leaks case finally closed, a PML-N leader on Tuesday asked the Supreme Court for an early hearing of his petition against PTI chief Imran Khan.

“It is not only just and proper but also expedient in the interest of law, justice, fairness, equity and equality that suitable and necessary directions for fixation and hearing of the cases for March 6 be issued,” said an application moved by Advocate Akram Sheikh on behalf of PML-N leader Hanif Abbasi.

In his petition, Abbasi has sought the disqualifications of Imran Khan and PTI Secretary General Jahangir Tareen for allegedly submitting false declarations before the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) by not disclosing their assets or the existence of offshore companies in their name, as well as alleging that the party received foreign funding.


Case was last heard by ex-CJP Jamali, no date was set for next hearing


The application recalled that at the last hearing on Nov 15, 2016, former Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali had observed that the question of whether this petition would be taken up by a larger bench or otherwise would be considered after the submission of concise statements.

Thereafter on Nov 30, concise statements were filed but the hearing of the petition was adjourned to a date to be decided by the court office.

Since then, the matter had not been fixed for hearing and the petition remains pending at a preliminary stage, the application argued.

The earlier bench had twice ignored the request of senior counsel Akram Sheikh to club the petition with the then-pending Panama Papers case.

In the latest application, the petitioner has pleaded that a substantial question of general public importance had been raised through the petition, the resolution of which was nothing short of a fundamental political right of the citizens of Pakistan.

It is the democratic and fundamental right of every citizen that only constitutionally qualified and worthy individuals hold public offices, especially ones of high significance and influence, such as those held by the respondents (Mr Khan and Mr Tareen), the application said.

The application further pleaded that the question or controversy involved in the petition was time-bound, since the right to currently hold membership of the National Assembly and the qualification/disqualification of the respondents may be rendered meaningless once their tenure expires.

Conversely, every second’s delay in the resolution of these questions only perpetuates the injustice and breach of the sacrosanct trust, placed by the people in this court, to ensure that only the qualified and worthy individuals hold the membership of the National Assembly of the country, the application emphasised.

On Nov 30, PTI had alleged in its rejoinder that the PML-N petition was moved with mala fide motivations and in bad faith since the petitioner had a personal grudge against Mr Khan, who had defeated Mr Abbasi in the 2013 elections in his NA-56 Rawalpindi constituency.

The petitioner was also a non-credible person, being an accused in corruption cases and having been tried by the National Accountability Bureau in the ephedrine and Rawalpindi metro bus case, the rejoinder had alleged.

PTI had also regretted that disputed issues had been raised in the petition by asking the court to declare PTI a foreign-funded party.

Such disputed questions of fact require evidence for just and proper determination before a court of law, but this is beyond the scope of the Supreme Court under its original jurisdiction under Article 184(3) of the Constitution, the rejoinder had argued.

Published in Dawn, March 1st, 2017

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