Pak court revives call for legal action against everyone named in Panama Papers

The Panama Papers controversy is back in the news almost eight years after the shocking disclosures they revealed rocked Pakistan's political establishment.

On June 9, the Supreme Court is anticipated to hear a plea from Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) asking for instructions about 436 people who are accused of hiding their assets in offshore corporations.

The two-judge panel, which also includes Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan, will be presided over by Justice Sardar Tariq Masood, as reported by the Dawn

It may be recalled that a final decision in the Panama Papers leak case is already in the field.

JI reminded the court of its unresolved appeal, which was submitted by party emir Sirajul Haq in August 2016, through an application on November 3, 2017.

However, this case was segregatedbecause the reasons established in it were too broad by a five-judge panel presided over by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, who was considering petitions against then-prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his family members for making investments in offshore firms.

However, the court guaranteed that its petition will be heard at a suitable time to the Jamaat-i-Islami.

The petitioner contended that the court's attention was being sought in the greater national interest to save public money in the motion submitted by Advocate Muhammad Ishtiaq Ahmed Raja on behalf of Haq under Order 33 Rule 6 of the Supreme Court Rules 1980.

The owner of offshore firms would be able to further conceal their sources of income and money thanks to the delay in the case's fixation, he noted.

The initial petition

In his initial petition, Haq asked the court to issue an order compelling the five respondents, the federal government through the ministry of parliamentary affairs, the secretaries of law and justice, the finance and cabinet division, and the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), to detain all of the criminals who had invested stolen money in foreign corporations and return the public funds that had been improperly transferred to those corporations to the nation.

The JI had argued that despite Pakistan's tremendous sacrifices in the fight against terrorism, civilians, officeholders in government organisations, and government employees were funding offshore businesses through unethical and corrupt practises.

Large quantities of money had been unlawfully moved, laundered, and parked in some offshore entities, posing problems for the state.

The petition contended that these investments in offshore firms had really been made with public funds through dishonest and unlawful methods.

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It claimed that many people in public service had been investing in offshore firms while lying about it in the declaration of assets they provided to the relevant authorities.

The petition highlighted that all such public office holders should be penalised and should be disqualified from their positions.

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