ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Friday resumed hearing of the Panama Papers case.
A five-member larger bench headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa is hearing the case.
Shahid Hamid, the counsel for Maryam Nawaz, Captain (retd) Safdar and Ishaq Dar, continuing his arguments observed it was alleged that Ishaq Dar on April 25, 2000 had confessed to money laundering Rs14.866 millions before a magistrate. An account in the name of Sikander Talat Masood Qazi was opened for a brother of the prime minister, the allegation added.
Shahid Hamid said that Ishaq Dar was made to sign on an already written confessional statement.
To this, Justice Ejaz Fazal remarked that the magistrate had endorsed the confessional statement.
The counsel told the court that later after getting release from jail in 2001 Ishaq Dar had contradicted the statement.
Cases were registered against Hudaibiya Engineering and Hudaibiya Paper Mills in 1994, the counsel told the court. Mian Sharif, Hussain, Abbas, Nawaz, Shahbaz Sharif and Hamza Shahbaz were nominated in the cases. The case ended in 1997 after production of challan in connrction with these FIRs, he added.
Later a subordinate court accepted the challan and acquitted all the accused in 1997, the PM’s counsel observed.
Justice Asif Khosa remarked that only challan has been accepted in the case but the FIR is still there.
The judge remarked that how come all the accused had been acquitted only through a single application?
Shahid Hamid said that the statement was just a piece of paper, to which Justice Khosa remarked that it was not just a paper piece but a part of evidence on which no action was taken ever.
Justice Asif Khosa pointed out that the NAB reference was dismissed for not conducting investigation as per the law and added that the high court ended the case over technical reasons.
This is a developing story and will be updated accordingly.
