The countdown begins

The sooner it finishes the better

In April this year Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif narrowly escaped disqualification after the apex court ruled there was insufficient evidence to remove him — by a 2-3 split — over documents released by the Panama Papers leak into off-shore assets. But it ordered further investigations, and the formation of the JIT. The JIT has presented its report to the SC bench. Some of the team’s finding are highly damaging.

On Monday PTI’s lead counsel Naeem Bukhari highlighted two findings in the JIT. The first showed that the alleged transaction of 12m dirhams in UAE which were supposed to have been transferred to Qatar never took place. The Qatari politician’s letter was thus a piece of fiction. The second finding showed that the trust deed of the four flats in Park Lane was false. The JIT has found Maryam Nawaz to be the beneficial owner of the London flats. Bukhari requested that the Prime Minister should be called to the court for questioning.

Nawaz Sharif and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar have challenged the findings of the JIT. The Prime Minister’s counsel rejected the JIT report, maintaining that the team had exceeded its mandate. He also asked the SC to provide Nawaz Sharif volume 10 of the report before proceeding further. The PM’s counsel has been asked to present his arguments on Tuesday. The SC bench has a number of options. It can itself deliver a verdict in the case after hearing the arguments from all sides. It can send the case to a trial court or an accountability court. It can also send the JIT report to the CJ to form a new bench or allow the original bench to decide the case.

The case has generated political uncertainty which is having a negative impact on national economy. The government is fully focused on the case with the result that it neglects other crucial issues related to both internal and external affair of the country. Under the circumstances one expects the court to opt for a course that allows the case to be decided at the earliest.