SC Decides To Hear Panama Case On Daily Basis

ISLAMABAD, Jan 4 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 04th Jan, 2017 ) : A five-member larger bench of the Supreme Court hearing the Panama Leaks case on Wednesday decided that the hearing of the case would be conducted on daily basis.

The bench headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa and comprising Justice Ejaz Afzal, Justice Gulzar Ahmad, Justice Azmat Saeed Sheikh and Justice Ijazul Ahsan resumed hearing of the case filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and others seeking investigations into the Panama Papers.

The bench reconstituted by the newly-appointed Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar, decided that the court would not accept any further unnecessary adjournments of the case. During the course of proceedings, Justice Khosa observed that the bench would hear the Panama papers case from 9:30 am to 1 pm daily and would not leave anything unattended.

He also observed that there should be no media debate on the basis of the bench's questions and observations. The aim of questions being asked by any member of the bench was to dig out information from the counsel or to reach the central point of the case.

Justice Khosa directed the media not to interpret the judges' remarks according to their own comprehension. "You must do your programme but it should not be on the judges' remarks, observation or questions," he remarked.

Justice Khosa observed that an attested letter from a former Qatari prime minister, presented in the apex court in November, stated that the London flats were owned by the Al Thani family before being bought by the Sharif family.

He noted that no evidence, however, had been presented in the court to show that the Al Thani family used to own the flats. Justice Khosa directed the PTI counsel to establish the source of funding for buying the Park Lane flats.

Three different money trails had been presented in the apex court for purchasing the flats, he said and asked the counsel to establish a single one. PTI chief Imran Khan also appeared before the bench and said his press conferences should not be construed as a tactic to influence the court. Later, the case was adjourned till Thursday.