LAHORE: Justice Shahid Waheed of the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday directed the court officials to consolidate all petitions seeking disqualification of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and other politicians who allegedly owned offshore companies.
The judge also directed the officials to schedule the preliminary hearing of these petitions on April 11.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Gohar Nawaz Sindhu’s petition came up for hearing on Friday and the court was informed that many others had filed such petitions. The judge directed the court officials to consolidate all these petitions.
The petitioner has made Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, his sons Hussain Nawaz and Hassan Nawaz, daughter Maryam Nawaz, former interior minister Rehman Malik, Election Commission of Pakistan, National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) respondents in the case.
The petitioner submitted that many top level politicians were involved in transferring public money out of Pakistan and establishing offshore companies. He said that public money was invested in offshore companies after it was transferred abroad through illegal means. He asserted that politicians concealed facts from the public as well as the Election Commission of Pakistan. He said the prime minister should be disqualified after his son’s confession about his foreign assets. He submitted that Hussain Nawaz was a minor when offshore companies were purchased in his name in 1993 and 1994, but the prime minister did not declare these assets to the Election Commission of Pakistan. He said the prime minister concealed the facts from the public and thus he could not be elected as a member of the National Assembly. He asked the court to direct the NAB to hold and inquiry into the information given by the Panama papers and name those involved.
He also asked the court to disqualify Prime Minister Sharif and other politicians if it is established that they own assets abroad. He said the court should direct the Election Commission of Pakistan to start an inquiry against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for concealing facts from the public while submitting his nomination papers. He said that prime minister’s sons and daughter should also be barred from contesting election.
