Justice Ijaz to monitor cases against Sharifs, Dar

ISLAMABAD – Justice Ijazul Ahsan has been nominated to supervise and monitor implementation of Panamagate judgment and oversee the proceedings conducted by NAB and accountability court.

The five-judge bench in Panama leaks case had requested Chief Justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar to nominate a judge of the apex court to supervise the implementation of its July 28 judgment.

A notification dated August 1 said that since Justice Ijaz is currently abroad, therefore, till his return, Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan shall act as the monitoring judge.

Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Ejaz Afzal were members of the bench which heard the petitions of PTI Chairman Imran Khan, Ameer Jamaat-e-Islami Sirajul Haq and Awami Muslim League chief Sheikh Rasheed against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his children.

Justice Ijaz had been the chief justice of the Lahore High Court and he was elevated to the Supreme Court last year in June.

The apex court in its judgment had disqualified Nawaz, saying he failed to disclose his un-withdrawn receivables from Capital FZE – his son’s company in Jebel Ali, UAE – in his nomination papers.

The court also directed the NAB to file references against the ex-PM, his children – Maryam Safdar, Hussain Nawaz and Hassan Nawaz -, his son-in-law Capt (r) Safdar and former finance minister Ishaq Dar.

Following the court order, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) decided on Monday to prepare and file four references against Sharif family within the given timeframe. The decision was taken in a meeting of the NAB Executive Board under Chairman Qamar Zaman Chaudhry.

The court had directed NAB to prepare and file the references within six weeks to the date of the judgment before the Accountability Court Rawalpindi/Islamabad, which shall decide the cases within six months.

The references would be filed on the basis of the material collected and referred to by the Joint Investigating Team (JIT) in its report and other material as may be available with the Federal Investigating Agency (FIA) and NAB having any nexus with the assets or which may subsequently become available including material that may come before it pursuant to the Mutual Legal Assistance requests sent by the JIT to different jurisdictions.

The NAB was ordered that it may file supplementary reference(s) if and when any other asset, which is not prima facie reasonably accounted for, is discovered.

The court said in case the Accountability Court finds any deed, document or affidavit filed by or on behalf of the respondent(s) or any other person to be fake, false, forged or fabricated, it shall take appropriate action against the concerned person(s) in accordance with law.

Source: The Nation