SC orders PTI to submit necessary documents

• Barrister Akram Sheikh calls presented documents fabricated, not fulfilling criteria
• Naeem Bukhari demands more time to submit verified, authentic documents
• CJ-led bench decides to take up matter of Jehangir Tareen’s disqualification

The Supreme Court on Tuesday observed that the banking transactions record submitted by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan did not show a continuous flow of his income.

During the hearing of case seeking disqualification of the PTI chairman for committing tax theft and owning offshore companies, Justice Umar Ata Bandial remarked that only some payments from Sussex county were mentioned in the banking transactions record, which were not enough to prove continuous flow of income from the cricket played by Imran in England.

The court earlier questioned as to whether the PTI chief had enough money to buy the flat in London. Upon this, Imran’s counsel Naeem Bukhari replied that his client had played for Worchestershire and Sussex counties in England, besides being associated with New South Wales and playing Kerry Packer’ World Cricket Series in Australia.

The petition was filed by Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) leader Hanif Abbasi seeking disqualification of PTI leaders Imran and Jehangir Tareen for owning offshore companies and acquiring party funds through prohibited and illegal sources. The case was heard by the three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Mian Sqib Nisar and comprising Justice Umar Ata Bandial and Justice Faisal Arab.

Imran’s counsel apprised the bench that his client had not mentioned his London flat in the tax returns as he had declared it under a tax amnesty scheme. Bukhari said that since the income earned abroad was not taxable in Pakistan, so taxes were not paid here on the amount spent for the purchase of the flat. Imran had declared the said property via tax amnesty scheme and it meant that there was no need to declare it in the yearly tax returns again, he claimed.

He said that his client declared the London flat in his nomination documents, filed in 2002 for contesting elections. Regarding the money trail for purchasing Bani Gala property, Bukhari presented Rashid Khan as a witness, who testified that he had received money from Imran’s ex-wife Jemima in this regard. He said the issues in the court were related to non-declaration of the Niazi Services, tax evasion and unjustified benefits from the tax amnesty scheme.

The chief justice observed that the banking transaction record would be got verified. On which, Bukhari said he was not sure that some banks involved in the transactions were still functional. The chief justice observed that if the banks had been closed, then as how Imran acquired this record. Bukhari replied that the record was obtained from an old accountant.

Justice Faisal Arab pointed out that a sum of one hundred thousand dollars was transferred to Pakistan after the Bani Gala residence was bought. Barrister Akram Sheikh, who is representing PML-N leader Hanif Abbasi, challenged the veracity of the documents submitted and questioned their authenticity. “The documents submitted by the respondents are fabricated and don’t fulfill the criteria of as prescribed in law of evidence,” he argued.

Bukhari sought more time from the court to submit the verified and authentic documents. “We’ll do our level best to get the documents verified. Even if I have to go to London to get the raw order verified,” he said. The court adjourned the hearing of the case until July 31, ordering Bukhari to submit all necessary documents on Wednesday (today). The court also decided to take up the matter of Jehangir Tareen’s disqualification during today’s hearing.

IMRAN ON TWITTER: PTI Chairman Imran took to Twitter to hit out at the ruling family for what he said were ‘false’ accusations in the disqualification case lodged against him in the Supreme Court. “I want to thank Sharifs and their lackeys for their false accusations against me which allowed me to dig out my 40-year financial records,” he tweeted.

“And thereby present myself for accountability before the nation. The same accountability process has exposed Sharif clan’s financial crimes,” he claimed. “Of money laundering, tax evasion, assets concealment plus crimes of forgery and perjury. Sharifs stand totally exposed before the nation today,” he claimed.