ISLAMABAD - Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) on Monday approached the Supreme Court of Pakistan against the persons whose names have appeared in Pandora Papers.
In this regard, JI Ameer Siraj-ul-Haq filed a Civil Miscellaneous Application (CMA) before the apex court for submitting additional documents in his petition, already pending. It sought action against the persons whose names have appeared in the Panama Leaks and the Pandora Papers.
The CMA mentioned that a number of Pakistanis’ names have appeared in the Panama Leaks and the Pandora Papers, who have established offshore companies in Panama and Virgin Island. However the federal government has so far taken no action against them.
The application said that since similar petition is pending before the Supreme Court therefore the petitioner seeks indulgence of Court for a direction to the federal government for the purpose of inquiry/investigation. The JI through fresh application prayed that it be allowed to place the names of those whose names have appeared in Pandora Papers. When the Panama Papers were released in April 2016, various petitions were filed in the Supreme Court, which directed the SECP, SBP, FIA and FBR to investigate into the matter.
Last month Managing Director Transparency International (TI) Syed Adil Gillani also filed petition in the Supreme Court urging it to order the federal government and the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to seek the sources of funds, and how money from Pakistan was transferred to offshore companies by those named in Pandora Papers and Panama Papers.
The TI had demanded that if the Pakistani citizens whose name appeared in Panama Papers and Pandora Papers are unable to satisfy and provide reasonable justification within three months about their foreign assets and that Foreign Assets (Declaration and Repatriation) Act, 2018 is not applicable on them then the FBR freeze their accounts, confiscate their properties and initiate proceedings under Article 51/52/53/54/55/56/57/58, Chapter V (Asset Recovery) of Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative included in UN Convention Against Corruption ratified by Government of Pakistan in August 2007.