LAHORE - Justice Shahid Waheed of the Lahore High Court yesterday overruled its registrar office’s objection to a petition seeking disqualification of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and other politicians involved in Panama scandal.
The judge also directed the registrar office to fix the petition before any bench for regular hearing.
Gohar Nawaz Sindhu of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf had filed the petition which was objected by the registrar office on the ground that the PM couldn’t be made party in the case.
The petitioner challenged the objection telling the court that the petition was of great public interest and the politicians including the PM were involved in transferring public money out of Pakistan and establishing offshore companies.
They concealed facts from the public; he alleged and made a request to the court for declaring disqualified PM Nawaz and other politicians. He also appealed to the court to bar PM’s sons and daughters from contesting elections.
Meanwhile, a writ petition was filed in the LHC challenging formation of inquiry commission constituted by PM Nawaz to examine allegations leveled against his family in Panama papers’ disclosure.
The Judicial Activism Panel filed the petition through its chairman Azhar Siddique saying that constitution of inquiry commission was unlawful. The allegation of corruption against PM’s family is an individual matter and National Accountability Bureau should be allowed to investigate it independently, the petitioner said, adding that inquiry commission is made when a collective damage takes place which causes damage to the public at large.
He said a legal procedure is involved in making it which has not been done so far.
He also told the court that no action was taken in any commission’s findings in the past thus such a formation will be wastage of time and public money.
After the admission of Hussain Nawaz about existence of their companies outside Pakistan, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif may be declared disqualified, he said.
He said Azhar said Hussain Nawaz was minor when offshore company was purchased outside Pakistan in 1993 and 1994 but the PM did not declare his assets before the Election Commission of Pakistan. He concealed facts from the public and thus, he cannot hold public office.
The petitioner prayed to the court to order the National Accountability Bureau to hold inquiry of the Panama matter and fix responsibility. He further prayed that Election Commission of Pakistan be directed to start inquiry against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for concealing facts from the public while submitting nomination papers.
On Tuesday, media reports claimed that several politicians, businessmen and other influential figures were named as owners or shareholders in offshore firms incorporated through the Mossack Fonseca law firm.
In addition to the companies owned by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s children, the leaks also allege that former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, her nephew Hassan Ali Jaffery and former interior minister Rehman Malik were the owners of Petrofine FZC — a company that was implicated in the Iraqi oil-for-food scandal, unearthed by a UN committee in 2005.