ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Friday questioned the plea to form a judicial commission to investigate 436 Pakistanis accused of setting up offshore companies in tax havens.
A two-member bench of the Supreme Court, comprising Justice Sardar Tariq Masood and Justice Aminuddin Khan, heard the petition of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Ameer Sirajul Haque asking the federal government to initiate an investigation into the Panama Leaks. was The court adjourned the hearing for a month while seeking arguments on the formation of the JC.
During the hearing, Advocate Ishtiaq, who represented the JI, pleaded for the formation of a JC to investigate the matter. Justice Sardar Tariq Masood, however, questioned how the court could constitute a JC to investigate the matter in the presence of investigating agencies. The judge asked the lawyer if he expected the court to do everything, shut down the relevant state institutions. The judge said how can a court be constituted in the presence of FBR, State Bank and investigative agencies like FIA and NAB. JC “You cannot ignore the law”, the judge told the counsel adding that the instant matter was pending in the Supreme Court for the past seven years during which the petitioner had not shown any interest but now realized that the interest It is a public case.
Justice Masood remarked that at that time the case was going on against only one family, both the cases were similar. The judge asked the lawyer that ‘why did you not raise this matter before the court that it is a case of public interest, so it should be heard together’. Did you just run a case against a family? You have no interest in this case for the last seven years.” The justice further asked the lawyer why he de-linked his plea and why he did not seek such huge relief from the five-judge bench that heard it earlier. Case in 2017. Justice Masood said that it seems like something else is brewing here. Justice Sardar Tariq Masood reminded that in 2017, the 5-member bench of the Supreme Court declared the Panama case admissible. Fazil asked the lawyer of JI whether he contacted NAB, FIA and anti-corruption agencies in this regard. The judge said how can the court start an inquiry against 436 persons without issuing a notice to them. The judge asked the lawyer that there may be some traders among these 436 people and do you want them to run away.
The judge remarked that setting up an offshore company was not a crime but how the company was formed should be examined.
The court urged the petitioners to approach the authorities concerned instead of seeking further answers from the JI. JI’s lawyer asked the court for more time to prepare. Later, the proceedings were adjourned for a month.
