SC adjourns Imran’s offshore companies’ case

ISLAMABAD:  The Supreme Court on Wednesday adjourned the hearing of a case regarding offshore companies of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan till Thursday.

A three-member SC bench headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar and comprising Justice Umar Ata Bandial and Justice Faisal Arab heard the case filed by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Hanif Abbasi seeking disqualification of the PTI chairman for concealing assets before the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), ownership of an offshore company and running party affairs through foreign funding.

The petitioner’s counsel Akram Sheikh continuing his counter-arguments, said Imran Khan had submitted a fake certificate before the ECP to show that no donations from prohibited sources were received by the party.

How could someone, who submitted a false certificate, be considered ‘Sadiq and Amin’, he asked.

He pleaded the court to disqualify Imran Khan under Article 62 of the Constitution.

On this, the chief justice remarked that there was no such penalty in the Political Party Order (PPO) 2002 for the submission of a fake certificate.

He asked Akram Sheikh that on what basis he was claiming that the PTI had submitted fake documents.

He remarked that it was jurisdiction of the ECP to determine that the funds received by a political party were illegal.

Akram Sheikh replied that the ECP had denied its authority in that regard.

The chief justice observed that the court would decide on the powers of the ECP to probe the case.

Akram Sheikh said the chief justice’s observations from a day earlier warranted further clarification as two English language dailies had carried out the same as their news headline that Imran Khan could not be disqualified.

He added that an explanation was necessary in that regard.

Akram Sheikh said that the nation should be made aware that the PTI had accepted funds from multinational companies.
The PTI had admitted to accepting prohibited funds, he added.

He said prohibited funds could be confiscated as there were laws that allowed confiscation of such funds.

Justice Umar Ata Bandial asked Akram Sheikh that he would have to prove that the PTI had accepted funds from prohibited sources.
Sheikh claimed that foreign corporations had sent $40,760 to the PTI Pakistan.

Upon this, the chief justice remarked that the records did not prove it.

He remarked that there was a possibility that corporations that funded the PTI were owned by overseas Pakistanis.
Akram Sheikh said that he could not bear the burden of obtaining the certificates of corporations funding the PTI.

Article source: https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/220794-SC-adjourns-Imrans-offshore-companies-case