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Islamabad – The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Friday dismissed the review petitions filed by deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif, his children and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar against the Panama Papers judgement of July 28, 2017.
The Apex court had reserved its verdict on the review petitions after the lawyers for all petitioners completed their arguments earlier in the day.
A five-member Supreme Court bench headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa had taken up the petitions seeking review of the court’s July 28 judgement which disqualified Nawaz Sharif and ordered the filing of corruption references against Sharif, his children — Hussain, Hassan and Maryam Nawaz, son-in-law retired Captain Mohammad Safdar and Ishaq Dar.
“For reasons to be recorded later, all these review petitions are dismissed,” Justice Khosa announced. The reasons for the judgement will be revealed later in the detailed order.
With the rejection of the review petitions, Sharif’s disqualification as a member of the parliament remains valid. The Sharif family and Dar will now face corruption references filed by the National Accountability Bureau in the accountability court.
The other day, during the court hearing, the Supreme Court had asked Sharif to have trust in the court which had always come to his rescue in the past.
“There is no need to get apprehensive merely because one decision has come against you,” Justice Asif Saeed Khosa observed while addressing senior counsel Khawaja Haris Ahmed, representing Sharif.
The observation came when Khawaja Haris expressed the reservation that his client might not get fair trial in the accountability court since everything in the corruption references against Nawaz Sharif and his children had been attributed to the Supreme Court. – abdulbasit@theuaenews.com