Panama Papers case verdict to be announced on Friday
ISLAMABAD:Â The Supreme Court of Pakistan will announce its verdict in the Panama Papers case at 11:30am on Friday.
The decision of the Panama Papers case will be announced by the original five-member bench which heard the landmark case. The bench comprises Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan, Justice Gulzar Ahmed, Justice Sh. Azmat Saeed, Justice Ijaz ul Ahsan.
The landmark verdict will be announced in Courtroom 1 of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.Â
The report and its aftermath
The JIT, formed in light of the apex court’s April 20 judgment to probe the Sharif family’s money trail, submitted its 60-day investigation report to the court on July 10.Â
The report highlighted the failure of the Sharif family to provide a money trail for its London apartments and claimed the prime minister and his children own assets beyond their known sources of income.
Following the report's submission, the special bench, headed by Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan and comprising Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed, issued notices to the parties to submit their responses.Â
The special implementation bench hearing the case had reserved its verdict on July 21 after hearing arguments over the report of the Joint Investigation Team (JIT).
In his remarks during the last hearing, Justice Ejaz stated that the bench was already reviewing the matter of the prime minister’s disqualification, while Justice Ijaz ul Ahsan remarked that the court would not back down from its decision.
The petitioners included Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan, Awami Muslim League chief Sheikh Rasheed and Jamaat-e-Isami head Sirajul Haq while the respondents include the prime minister, his family members, and several government officials and departments.
The original judgment
Hearing the Panama Papers case since last year, a five-judge Supreme Court bench delivered its much-anticipated verdict in the case on April 20.
In a 3-2 split decision, the majority judges determined that the available evidence was insufficient to disqualify the prime minister outright and directed for the formation of a JIT to investigate the case and collect evidence, if any, showing that "Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif or any of his dependents or benamidar owns, possesses or acquired assets or any interest therein disproportionate to their known means of income".
The apex court also observed that after the JIT's final report is presented, "the matter of disqualification [of Nawaz Sharif] shall be considered
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