ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Talal Chaudhry on Wednesday said that the review petitions against the Panamagate verdict have been filed to rectify any mistakes in the judgment.
Chaudhry further said that the Panama Case verdict has not been understood by the public or the legal experts. Chaudhry suggested that public opinion must be given precedence and all steps must be taken to ensure that that public authority is not undermined.
Referring to the former president General (r) Pervez Musharraf, Chaudry highlighted the need for a judicial system that punishes those who downplay the constitution.
Regarding the forth coming NA 120 by-election in Lahore, Chaudhry said that their fight is against the “Musharraf like-minded group” in NA-120. He further assured that the people’s decision in NA 120 will take precedence.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Supreme Court’s three-member bench, headed by Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan and comprising Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed and Justice Ijazul Ehsan, heard a plea submitted by the former prime minister’s children against the hearing of their review petitions by a three-member bench instead of a five-judge bench.
The judges are the same as those on the special implementation bench that supervised the work of the Panama case Joint Investigation Team (JIT).
During the hearing, the counsel for Nawaz’s children, Salman Akram Raja, pleaded the court to form a five-member bench to hear their review petitions. He also pleaded that their review petition against the judgment of the five-member bench be taken up first.
Justice Ejaz observed that the three-judge bench gave the majority verdict in the Panama Papers case and that the decision would not have been different had the three-judge bench given a verdict in the case. However, the bench accepted Raja’s plea and sent a request to the chief justice for the formation of a five-judge bench.
Later in the day, the five-judge bench was announced. It was to be headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa and would include Justice Gulzar Ahmed as well as the three judges who were set to hear the case on Tuesday.
During the hearing, the counsel of Nawaz, Khawaja Harris, was also present and presented his arguments.
