As Salman Akram Raja, the lawyer representing Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s children in the Panamagate case, began his arguments before the Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday, the judges expressed their displeasure over the “media trial” being conducted outside the court.
A three-member bench of the SC, headed by Justice Ejaz Afzal and comprising Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed and Justice Ijazul Ahsan, has been holding the proceedings since Monday following the submission of the joint investigation team’s (JIT) report. Lawyer Salman Akram Raja is representing Maryam, Hassan and Hussain Nawaz in the case.
“You’ve been conducting a trial in the media — all the documents [submitted to the court] have already been discussed in the media,” remarked Justice Saeed. “There’s a media dais outside, you should give your arguments there as well.”
The counsel, however, told the court that he had not given any documents to the media.
During the proceedings, Justice Ejaz Afzal warned the lawyer that if the PM’s children fail to provide the money trail, Nawaz Sharif would have to suffer the consequences since he holds a public office. “We will be forced to take a decision against the PM [in such circumstances].”
The judges questioned the authenticity of the documents submitted in court, pointing to the deed for the four London flats.
Turning to Additional Attorney General (AAG) Rana Waqar, who was also present in court, the judges inquired about the consequences of submitting fake documents in the SC. “A case would be registered and the punishment could be imprisonment up to seven years but parties can clear their position,” said AAG Waqar.
“According to the JIT report, the font used in the deed [for the London flats] was not commercially available until 2007 while the trust deed was prepared in 2006 — how were fake documents submitted in the court?” asked the irked judges.
The hearing was adjourned until Friday when Raja will continue his arguments.
