SC resumes hearing of Tareen’s disqualification case

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ISLAMABAD: The three-member Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Mian Saqib Nisar resumed the hearing of disqualification case against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Secretary General Jahangir Khan Tareen later during the day.

The three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar and comprising of Justice Umar Ata Bandial and Justice Faisal Arab are hearing the case.

Justice Bandial, observed that the petitioner’s counsel has not brought forth any material proving Tareen’s ownership of the offshore company. If there is not sufficient material to prove the ownership of the offshore company, why then has the case been put forth before the judge, observed the judge.

The counsel informed the bench that Tareen showed his agriculture revenue to be Rs540 million to the Federal Board of Revenue whereas the same was shown as Rs120 million to the Election Commission of Pakistan. He said the difference is of Rs420 million in 2010.

Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Mian Saqib Nisar responded that if he paid less income tax then it is a matter that relates to the income tax authorities.

This is not the concern of the SC bench, observed the judges who are looking at the case of Tareen being Sadiq and Amin.

The bench had, the other day sought answers to five questions from the counsel.

The questions were when was Tareen’s trust formed, when was the offshore company formed, who’s the legal and beneficial owner of the company, when and for how much was the offshore company formed, and how many times did he give funds as gifts to his children from 2002-17?

Pakistan Muslim League-N leader Hanif Abbasi had petitioned the court to disqualify Tareen and PTI Chairman Imran Khan. The petition alleges that Tareen owns offshore companies in the name of his children, shared gifts worth over Rs1.6 billion among family members, and is involved in insider trading in the shares of the United Sugar Mills Limited in 2005.