Imran disqualification case: SC seeks financial details of Bani Gala property

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court bench, headed by Chief Justice Saqib Nisar, resumed hearing Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s disqualification case on Tuesday.

As the court proceedings began, Naeem Bukhari, the PTI chief legal counsel, stated that a reply to the court orders had already been submitted.

In response, the chief justice reminded Bukhari that the financial details pertaining to Imran Khan’s Bani Gala are yet to be presented before the court. The chief justice questioned Bukhari regarding the missing details of funds sent by Jemima to buy the Bani Gala property. He further made it clear that the reply could not satisfy the court regarding how the property was purchased in Jemima’s name.

Justice Bandial observed that a discrepancy exists between documents submitted by the PTI chairman earlier and now.

Moreover, the chief justice observed during the course of hearing that the PTI chairman has submitted copies of documents that are unverified.

Bukhari assured the bench that best efforts will be made to present before the court, the missing details regarding the Bani Gala property.

The previous hearing regarding the case was held on August 3, following which the hearing into the case was postponed until further notice.

The petition, filed by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Hanif Abbasi, is being heard by a three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Saqib Nisar and includes Justice Faisal Arab and Justice Umar Ata Bandial.

The petition seeks disqualification of PTI chief Imran Khan and Secretary General Jahangir Tareen for non-disclosure of assets, ownership of offshore companies and for the party being a foreign-funded party.

During the August 3 hearing, the bench had yet again summoned a copy of Imran Khan’s passport for validating the claims of   ‘non-resident’ status.

Meanwhile, Abbasi’s legal counsel, Akram Sheikh also pointed out that it was crucial to bring forth before the court the source of funds utilised for party funding.