ISLAMABAD: Today, the Supreme Court of Pakistan observed that there was no money trail regarding Sharif family’s London flats and asked the government to show how the money was transferred from Jeddah to London.

The hearing was resumed by a five-member larger bench headed by Chief Justice Pakistan Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali. Other bench members are Justice Asif Saeed Khose, Justice Amir Hani Muslim, Justice Shaikh Azmat Saeed and Justice Ijaz Ul Hassan.

All the documents submitted to the court by the Sharif family as responses, were different from the speeches made in the assembly, said the apex court in its remarks.

During the case proceeding, Justice Ijazul Ahsan remarked that Sharif family members maintain that they have invested 12 million dirhams in Qatar.

He observed that there are discrepancies between the Prime Minister’s documents and his public statements.

Meanwhile, Justice Azmat Saeed questioned about financial source for Jeddah steel mill.

He noted that London flats were purchased through Qatar investment, however, there is no clarification regarding funding for Jeddah steel mill.

The court asked about how the finances for Jeddah Steel Mill were raised, how loans were taken from Saudi banks, how and at what value, Jeddah Steel Mill was sold, how the money was transferred from Jeddah to London and how did Tariq Shafi transfer 12 million dirhams to Qatar.

Regarding the letter by Qatari prince, dated November 5, 2016, the court asked about the legal status of the letter, since the name of the recipient was not mentioned in it.

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s (PTI) lead counsel in the Panamagate case Naeem Bukhari said PM Nawaz was misleading the court through false statements.

He argued that the premier did not mention Qatar investment in his speech. 

He was not truthful and honest (sadiq and ameen) thus liable to be disqualified from the National Assembly, the PTI lawyer told court.

He claimed Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif had forged his cousin, Tariq Shafi’s signatures on some documents because there was clear difference in the signatures on the affidavit and the contract.

The PTI’s counsel during the hearing of the controversial case also revealed about another property of the Sharif family.

Bukhari told the court that Hussain Nawaz owned Flagship limited and PTI recently got hold of its downloaded documents recently.

The court maintained that PTI should prove a pre-2006 connection between the Sharif family and offshore companies and if it succeeded in doing so, then the family would be under immense pressure.

The hearing was attended by PTI Chairman Imran Khan, JI Chief Siraj-ul-Haq, Awami Muslim League chief Sheikh Rashid Ahmed and others.

The Panamagate case was adjourned until December 6.

Meanwhile the son of a British-Pakistani officer has gotten involved in the Panamagate case, claiming that the Sharif family bought Mayfair flats through money laundering. He claimed the illegal money was transferred in the bank accounts opened in his fathers name without any consent.

Kashif Masood, son of Masood Ahmed Qazi, a retired officer from London Stock Exchange, claimed this through an email to Registrar Supreme Court. He said Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, who opened accounts in the name of Masood Qazi, bluffed his father.

Unlike Qatari prince, the British son has consented to appear before the larger bench of the apex court to record his statement and testimony with more “substantial” evidences.

Names of several Pakistanis including Nawaz Sharif’s children Maryam, Hussain, and Hasan surfaced in one of the world’s biggest ever data leaks through an online searchable database made public by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) in April 2016, following which the prime minister had formed an inquiry commission to probe his family’s alleged links to offshore accounts.

Unfortunately, the federal government and the opposition could not agree on drafting joint Terms of References (ToRs).

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) and National Accountability Bureau (NAB) also failed to probe the high-profile case.

The PTI later had said to hold a sit-in in Islamabad on November 2, which was later, changed into a ‘celebratory’ rally after the Supreme Court took up the case.