ISLAMABAD: The Supreme court on Thursday adjourned the hearing of a petition seeking disqualification of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Secretary General Jehangir Tareen as a member of the parliament for an indefinite period.
A three-member SC bench headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar heard the petition filed by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Hanif Abbasi for disqualification of Tareen on account of concealing assets, non-declaration of offshore companies and involvement in inside trading in stock exchange.
The bench gave 10 days to Tareen to submit details regarding his offshore companies.
During the course of proceedings, the chief justice remarked that the court wanted the matter to be clear as far as documents were concerned.
After submission of related documents, the court would decide whether there was any need to probe the matter further, he added
The chief justice observed that the court was giving time to the parties to submit documents.
Justice Umar Ata Bandial observed that the petitioner had not provided any documents regarding Tareen’s offshore company.
The petitioner’s counsel informed the bench that there was a difference of Rs 420 million in the agriculture income shown by Tareen in 2010 to the Federal Board of Revenue, which was Rs 540 million and the income he showed to Election Commission of Pakistan which was Rs 120 million.
The chief justice remarked that income tax authorities were to decide the issue of paying less income tax.
Expressing its dissatisfaction, the court directed Tareen’s counsel Sikander Mohmand to be better prepared on next date of hearing. Mohmand failed to present the required documents regarding a trust supposedly represented by a company owned by Tareen’s children.
