ISLAMABAD - The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Thursday rejected a proposal of the Supreme Court to form an inquiry commission to probe the Panama Papers case involving Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his family for having off-shore companies.

The PTI made the announcement a day the Supreme Court asked the counsel of the ime minister and PTI to come up with their stance till today (Friday) about the formation of the inquiry commission.

“After getting feedback from public and consulting the senior party leadership, we have decided that this bench of the Supreme Court should decide the Panama case on a day-to-day basis,” Khan said while talking to reporters after a meeting of his party’s senior leadership. Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed of Awami Muslim League (AML) accompanied him.

“We think that there is no need of this commission as the SC bench was capable and it should decide the case at earliest,” Khan said adding that the PTI would accept the decision of the court whatever it may be He said that the court should hear the counsel of the prime minister and then listen to our replies and decide the matter.

Khan questioned that how the proposed commission would be able to probe the matter when all the institutions, supposed to assist it, were working under the premier. “Not one within the PTI is in the favour of the commission and only a single person supported the formation of commission with the condition that the prime minister should resign before its formation,” he said. Khan said that this was also the observation of the Supreme Court that all state institutions that should have probed the Panama Papers had failed to fulfil their duties.

Khan mentioned the past events to explain his stance and said that Supreme Court during its 1st November hearing, a day before his party was going to lockdown Islamabad, had made some observations in the case. The apex court had said that the whole country had been mortgaged with Panama Papers case. The court had also asked PTI to come to the Supreme Court, as the hearing of the case would be inquisitorial. “This means that SS would hold investigations in this vase,” he said adding that then there was no need for the establishment of the commission. The last thing SC had said that the rulers were answerable to the masses, he said.

Khan said that there was a backlash from the public and PTI supporters and media on the party leadership for its decision to go to the Supreme Court and postpone November 2 lockdown plan. But we decided to go to the court, he said.

The PTI chief went on to say that the stance of counsel of the prime minister in the Supreme Court that the statements of Nawaz Sharif given on the floor of the National Assembly were a ‘political move’ was not right. He pointed out that the prime minister answerable to the parliament and his statements before this forum could not be considered as political ones. “The prime minister also said in the parliament that he had documents of the money trail to buy Mayfair properties and these would be presented before the court. And now PM’s lawyers have said that they had no documents of the money trail. The counsel of PM could not answer in the Supreme Court that from where the money came to meet losses of Gulf Steel Mills. The counsel only said that Sharif family had arranged money to meet the losses but had no record of that,” he said.

This was not a verbal speech of the prime minister he made in NA as it was in black and white,” he said. The assets of worth billions were behind these lies of PM. He said that former US President Bill Clinton was going to face impeachment only because of telling a lie while he was facing allegations of a sex scandal.

Khan said that moral standards that used to apply to the prime minister were considered higher than the common citizens as he was the custodian of the taxpayers’ money and when the masses lost confidence in him, he should resign.

Earlier, the PTI chief expressed his condolences to the victims of PIA plane crash tragedy and said that his deep condolences were especially for the families of deceased singer turned televangelist Junaid Jamshed and Deputy Commissioner Chitral Osama Ahmed Warriach. Khan sought an inquiry into the matter to avoid such incidents in future and questioned the safety measures’ record of Pakistan International Airlines.

 

 

Imran rejects commission proposal

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formation of commission with the condition that the prime minister should resign before its formation,” he said. Khan said that this was also the observation of the Supreme Court that all state institutions that should have probed the Panama Papers had failed to fulfil their duties.

Khan mentioned the past events to explain his stance and said that Supreme Court during its 1st November hearing, a day before his party was going to lockdown Islamabad, had made some observations in the case. The apex court had said that the whole country had been mortgaged with Panama Papers case. The court had also asked PTI to come to the Supreme Court, as the hearing of the case would be inquisitorial. “This means that SS would hold investigations in this vase,” he said adding that then there was no need for the establishment of the commission. The last thing SC had said that the rulers were answerable to the masses, he said.

Khan said that there was a backlash from the public and PTI supporters and media on the party leadership for its decision to go to the Supreme Court and postpone November 2 lockdown plan. But we decided to go to the court, he said.

The PTI chief went on to say that the stance of counsel of the prime minister in the Supreme Court that the statements of Nawaz Sharif given on the floor of the National Assembly were a ‘political move’ was not right. He pointed out that the prime minister answerable to the parliament and his statements before this forum could not be considered as political ones. “The prime minister also said in the parliament that he had documents of the money trail to buy Mayfair properties and these would be presented before the court. And now PM’s lawyers have said that they had no documents of the money trail. The counsel of PM could not answer in the Supreme Court that from where the money came to meet losses of Gulf Steel Mills. The counsel only said that Sharif family had arranged money to meet the losses but had no record of that,” he said.

This was not a verbal speech of the prime minister he made in NA as it was in black and white,” he said. The assets of worth billions were behind these lies of PM. He said that former US President Bill Clinton was going to face impeachment only because of telling a lie while he was facing allegations of a sex scandal.

Khan said that moral standards that used to apply to the prime minister were considered higher than the common citizens as he was the custodian of the taxpayers’ money and when the masses lost confidence in him, he should resign.

Earlier, the PTI chief expressed his condolences to the victims of PIA plane crash tragedy and said that his deep condolences were especially for the families of deceased singer turned televangelist Junaid Jamshed and Deputy Commissioner Chitral Osama Ahmed Warriach. Khan sought an inquiry into the matter to avoid such incidents in future and questioned the safety measures’ record of Pakistan International Airlines.