SC disposes of Broadsheet plea as withdrawn

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court Tuesday disposed of as withdrawn a plea of Broadsheet LLC, seeking a copy of Volume 10 of the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) report in the Panama Leaks case.

A three-member bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Umar Ata Bandial, heard the case.

The other members of the bench were Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Shahid Waheed. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) struck a deal with the asset recovery firm during Pervez Musharraf’s government in 1999 to trace assets in the UK and the US of more than 200 Pakistanis (called ‘targets’ in the contract), including ex-generals, politicians, businessmen with Benazir Bhutto, Asif Ali Zardari and Nawaz Sharif as the major targets.

On Tuesday, Justice Athar Minallah observed that the petitioner had sought a copy of Volume 10 of the JIT report in a court of arbitration.

“But the arbitration process had concluded; therefore, the matter has become infructuous,” Justice Minallah told Sardar Latif Khosa, counsel for the petitioner.

The additional attorney general told the court that the Broadsheet had received 20 percent recovered from the property adding that the NAB had paid $28 million to the company.

Khosa, however, contended that the anti-graft body in 1999 hired the services of Broadsheet for tracing the assets of Sharif family adding how the country was looted and properties were made should be known to everyone.

“It was the money of the people of Pakistan; therefore, it is the public right under Article 19-A of the Constitution to know as to how the country was looted,” Khosa added.

The Chief Justice, however, asked the counsel that he could file a petition regarding the public interest under Article 184(3) of the Constitution. “Don’t talk about public interest on the shoulders of Broadsheet,” the chief justice told Khosa.

Justice Athar Minallah asked the lawyer that at present he was representing the Broadsheet and not the people of Pakistan adding that Broadsheet could not represent the people of Pakistan.

Justice Minallah observed that the apex court had already decided the Panama case whereby a prime minister was disqualified. The judge asked the counsel if he wanted to review the Panama judgments to which the counsel replied in the negative.

“Then you want to say that the five-member bench of the apex court in Panama case had favored someone?” Justice Minallah further asked the counsel adding that he should confine himself to the legal points instead of raising political points.

“I just want that facts should come before the public,” Latif Khosa replied and questioned as to what was in Volume 10 for which it was kept confidential.

Meanwhile, the court observed that the matter had become infructuous and asked Khosa that he could file another petition regarding the public interest under Article 184(3) of the Constitution.

Later, the counsel withdrew the petition at which the court disposed of the matter as withdrawn.