Panama Leaks: SC Judge Asks JI Lawyer Where He Was From Last Seven Years

The bench expressed displeasure over the separation of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's case from the Panama Papers.

ISLAMABAD: (UrduPoint/UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News-June 9^th, 2023) The Supreme Court of Pakistan addresses a plea by Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) requesting an investigation into all Pakistanis mentioned in the Panama papers leaks.

JI Chief Sirajul Haq was present during the proceedings before a two-member bench led by Justice Sardar Tariq and Justice Ameenuddin.

During the hearing, JI urged the court to establish a judicial commission for probing the Pakistani individuals implicated in the Panama leaks. Justice Sardar Tariq questioned the applicant's lawyer regarding their actions over the past seven years and whether they had approached institutions such as the SBP, NAB, or FIA for investigations.

The bench expressed displeasure over the separation of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's case from the Panama Papers. They questioned why the Supreme Court was not asked to handle all cases involving Pakistani individuals simultaneously, suggesting that targeting a specific family was the motive at the time.

JI's lawyer clarified that they were not targeting any particular individual mentioned in the Panama leaks, to which the bench responded by highlighting JI's actions in 2016.

The court cautioned the applicant against using the judiciary's involvement in this matter and adjourned the hearing for a month, summoning arguments on the formation of a judicial commission.

The Panama Papers scandal, involving leaked documents from Mossack Fonseca, a Panama-based law firm, exposed the offshore wealth of influential individuals worldwide. In Pakistan, the revelations implicated Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's sons, leading to a widespread debate and ultimately resulting in Nawaz Sharif's removal from office in 2017 based on allegations of concealing assets beyond known sources of income.