ISLAMABAD -  The Supreme Court on Tuesday observed that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had not provided authentic documents regarding purchase of land in Bani Gala on which Imran Khan’s house is built and record of remittances by Jemima Khan.

The chief justice said record of some of the banking instruments of the values $16,000, $5,000, and $5,000 had yet to be proved.

Naeem Bukhari, representing the PTI chief, explained to the court that Jemima sent money from the UK into the account of one of Imran Khan’s close friends, Rashid Khan for the purchase of land in Bani Gala.

The court questioned why Jemima sent money into Rashid’s bank account instead of Imran Khan’s.

A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, heard Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Hanif Abbasi’s petition against Imran Khan and PTI General Secretary Jehangir Khan.

Akram Sheikh, appearing on behalf of Abbasi, said that it was the stance of Imran Khan’s counsel that most of the time (2002–2004) his client stayed out of the country, therefore the money was sent into Rashid’s account.

But no documents about Imran’s frequent foreign trips have been submitted, he contended.

First time during the hearing of Abbasi’s petition against Imran Khan the bench referred to the judgment in Panama Papers case.

Justice Umar Atta Bandial said that the Panama judgment was not about father not received money from son, but it was a matter about the State.

The judgment laid parameters that tax evasion can be dealt in proceeding under Article 184(3) of Constitution, and that only irrefutable documents could be looked into and the issue of maintainability, Justice Bandial said.

He said a person found evading tax was guilty under tax laws, but in this case Imran Khan made declaration under Representation of People Act, 1976.

Justice Bandial said Imran declared the ownership of his London flat in the nomination papers filed for 2002 elections, but did not disclose its sale, in 2003, in the statement before the ECP.

The court noted there was no proof that Jemima sent the amount for the purchase of land to Rashid Khan.

Justice Faisal observed that there was a possibility that the US dollars were purchased from the local market and deposited into Rashid’s account.

The court further noted that an amount of $100,000 was also not accounted for.

Bukhari said that he would make another effort to trace record of those transactions.

The chief justice said that if effort was not succeeded then what conclusion could be drawn that this amount was not paid by Jemima Khan, adding there would be legal consequences.

Justice Nisar said that there was no authentic document regarding purchase of land in Bani Gala.

He said that according to the Civil Miscellaneous Applications (CMAs), filed before the apex court, Imran Khan made the initial payment from his sources but later borrowed money from Jemima Khan for the purchase of land, which was returned to her when he sold the UK flat.

The chief justice noted there was no banking transactions to prove that sale proceed from Niazi Services Limited’s only asset, the UK flat went to Jemima Khan.

The chief justice said there was no record that Imran paid back money to Jemima.

He questioned how the property could have been purchased in the name of Jemima Khan when Imran took loan from his wife for Bani Gala land, adding he should have mentioned in his tax returns and the statement filed before the Election Commission of Pakistan about the money he had borrowed from his former wife.

Justice Nisar said there was also no record of remittance by Jemima Khan to Imran Khan, adding there was only a letter submitted that Jemima sent money into Rashid Khan’s account.

Bukhari said they had submitted the record of bearer certificates encashment.

The chief justice, however, said the encashment did not prove Jemima Khan sent the money from the UK to Rashid Khan.

Hanif Abbasi’s lawyer said that the CITI Bank closed its operation in Pakistan in 2006, but the documents PTI attached with the CMAs were of 2003.

He questioned about the authenticity of the documents.

Justice Faisal noted that CITI Bank was taken over by the Habib Bank Ltd in Pakistan, adding the original documents about money transaction could be obtained from the Habib Bank.

The chief justice asked where was the declaration and acceptance of gift as Imran Khan says Bani Gala land was gifted to him by his wife.

The court noted that there was discrepancy in the dates of the incorporation of the Bani Gala land and the documents about land appended with the CMAs not seemed to be correct.

The case was adjourned till September 26th.

Meanwhile, the PTI parliamentarians on Tuesday filed petitions against the PML-N and the PPP concerning foreign funding in the Supreme Court.