ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Thursday observed that if children of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif fail to satisfy the court on matters revolving their assets abroad, the holder of the public office – prime minister – will have to face the consequences.
Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan, who heads the three-judge implementation bench, said that if the children succeed in satisfying the court, then holder of the public office, PM Sharif, will stand exonerated.
Justice Khan observed that the prime minister himself admitted that he had been chairman of the board of Capital FZE. He said even if the prime minister did not draw any salary, still it is tantamount to holding an asset that has not been declared.
Justice Ijazul Ahsan observed that the PM’s children may face consequences for submitting ‘forged’ documents to the joint investigation team (JIT) probing the ruling family’s offshore assets.
The bench asked Additional Attorney General Rana Waqar as to what punishment is prescribed for forgery. To this, the law officer said that seven years of imprisonment can be awarded to someone who is found to be involved in forgery.
Justice Ahsan observed that the Dubai government had revealed that the documents of Gulf Steel Mills (GSM) were forged. “Dubai Customs has no record of transportation of machinery of the Gulf Steel Mills from Dubai to Saudi Arabia,” he observed. “We cannot shut our eyes … law will take its course because fake documents have been submitted in the Supreme Court,” Justice Azmat Saeed Sheikh observed, adding that the bench could not even imagine the placement of forged documents in the apex court.
The bench also lamented over Qatari Prince Hammad Bin Jassam’s attitude with the joint investigation team (JIT), observing that neither he agreed to record his statement on video link nor was he willing to come to Pakistan Embassy in Doha.
Salman Akram Raja, counsel for Maryam Nawaz and Hussain Nawaz, started his arguments. As he took the rostrum, the bench expressed displeasure over releasing the parts of his reply. The bench observed that the counsel had made the commitment that he would provide the documents in chamber but rather those were released to media. The bench told the counsel that if he wished to fight the legal battle on media, he might go to the dais outside the court. However, Salman denied the allegation, stating that he had no idea as to who leaked the documents.
Published in Daily Times, July 21st, 2017.
