ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday completed the hearing of the Panama Leaks case. The court has reserved its verdict for now and said that it would be announced at a later date.
According to media reports, a five-member bench led by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa remarked that it will review all angles of the case in detail and then announce a verdict. The bench said, “It will be not be short-judgement but a long-judgement.”
The Panama Leaks case has taken more than 126 days of the Supreme Court. The Panama case polarized the country into two groups, with one supporting the Pakistan-Tehreek-e-Insaf and the other supporting Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz.
The courtroom where the proceedings were underway was packed with people, both politicians and lawyers. Moreover, contingents of police were present outside the court building.
According to media reports, during the proceedings today, the bench maintained that documents produced by both parties cannot to be traced to verifiable sources.
Justice Asif Saeed Khosa said that documents submitted by both parties will be reviewed.
Justice Ejaz Afzal said that Supreme Court was not a trial court and it was not the court’s duty to verify documents. “How can we accept documents without verification?” he said.
PTI counsel Naeem Bukhari also put forth his arguments.
“Yesterday the issue of pending payments of the Gulf Steel Mills were raised,” Bukhari said. Bukhari enquired about how Hussain and Hassan Nawaz had received funds for investment. “The Qatar investments look like profits from a bank,” he concluded.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chief Imran Khan and leader Jehangir Tareen were present in the court. The Jamat-e-Islami (JI) Chief Siraj-ul-Haq and Awami Muslim League (AML) Chief Sheikh Rasheed were also present at the hearing.
