LAHORE: Justice Shahid Waheed of the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday allowed a petitioner to attach relevant documents to his petition seeking disqualification of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and other politicians who allegedly owned offshore companies.
During the proceedings, petitioner Gohar Nawaz Sindhu, leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), said that some disclosures were made about the two offshore companies owned by the prime minister after he filed his petition; therefore, he should be allowed to attach more documents to his petition. The judge accepted the request and put off the hearing till April 14.
Sindhu and many others have filed petitions in the LHC against the prime minister and other politicians over their alleged foreign assets.
The petitioner has made Prime Minister Sharif, his sons Hussain Nawaz and Hassan Nawaz, daughter Maryam Nawaz, former interior minister Rehman Malik, the Election Commission of Pakistan, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) respondents in his petition.
The petitioner submitted that top politicians, including the prime minister, were involved in the transfer of public money
out of Pakistan and establishment of offshore companies.
He said that public money was invested in offshore companies and it was not shifted abroad through legal means.
He asserted that the politicians who allegedly owned assets abroad concealed facts from the public as well as the Election Commission of Pakistan while filing their nomination papers for the parliamentary elections. 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 outside Pakistan in 1993 and 1994, but the prime minister did not declare his assets to the Election Commission of Pakistan. He said the prime minister concealed facts from the public and thus he could not be elected as a member of the National Assembly.
He asked the court to order the NAB to hold an inquiry into the Panama leaks and name those who owned offshore companies.
He said that Prime Minister Sharif and other politicians should be disqualified.
He said the Election Commission of Pakistan should be directed to launch an inquiry into the allegations against Prime Minister Sharif for allegedly concealing facts from the public while submitting nomination papers. He said that sons and daughter of the prime minister should also be barred from contesting the election.
