— CJP Nisar says court can summon asset details of 100 richest Pakistanis
–SBP chief says NAB is reaching out to several countries for verifying foreign bank accounts of Pakistanis
ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Saqib Nisar on Tuesday observed that the Supreme Court (SC) can summon the 100 richest Pakistanis and ask them to provide details of their assets, adding that even though the court is accused of exceeding its jurisdiction, it does not wish to leave an adverse impact on the economy through its decisions.
The CJP, while hearing a suo motu case of foreign bank accounts held by Pakistanis, said that the apex court wants to assist the government in bringing back funds taken out of the country and parked in foreign bank accounts and that the court will not rush the case, as it seeks to see how the capital taken abroad can be brought back to the country.
Justice Umar Ata Bandiyal, who is part of the three-judge bench hearing the case, remarked that money is taken out from illegal channels and brought back legally, adding that dollars are bought in the open market and everything is ‘pured’.
Similarly, Justice Ijazul Ahsan observed that if money changers are given a decent percentage, they can arrange the foreign exchange.
State Bank of Pakistan Governor Tariq Bajwa informed the court that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has requested countries for assistance. He added that it will take time to verify foreign assets of Pakistanis.
Bajwa further said that a law is needed to control strictly the operations of foreign currency exchange companies.
Last month, CJP Nisar formed a three-member committee to prepare the Terms of Reference (TORs) that can help the government recover money stored in foreign accounts through illegal means after the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) informed him that there were no legal guidelines for retrieving such money.
The committee formed by the CJP is headed by State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Tariq Bajwa and comprises Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Mohammad Irshad and Federal Finance Secretary Arif Ahmed Khan.
Chief Justice Nisar had taken a suo motu notice of foreign bank accounts held by Pakistani citizens on February 1. The three-member SC bench, that also comprises Justice Umar Ata Bandial and Justice Ijazul Ahsan, had asked the FBR to inform the court what steps it had taken regarding the matter of offshore companies after the release of the Panama Papers and Paradise Papers, which revealed details of wealth stored abroad by Pakistani citizens.