Panama Leaks Case
ISLAMABAD: Will Salman Aslam Butt and Akram Sheikh live up to the Sharifs’ expectations? This is a million dollar question many were asking each other in the Courtroom Room 1 on Tuesday.
“Fifty-fifty -- this is my answer,” a leader of PTI sitting next to Imran Khan responded. “It’s like do or die for us and we will spring up with a trump card. We have answers for all the questions,” a confident Salman Butt told this correspondent. Three key questions have been put before the respondents in the PanamaLeaks case.
PTI’s lead counsel Naeem Bokhari formed these questions, equally endorsed by worthy judges in his five-hour-long arguments. “I’ve done my job — the burden of proof shifted to the respondents,” Mr Bokhari happily whispered into my ears as saying “honestly our purpose has been served in this case.”
How do the Sharifs’ counsel respond to these questions? One will find answer to this question today (Wednesday), perhaps a decisive day in this case. All eyes are on Mr. Butt and Mr. Sheikh.
Will a judicial commission be formed in this case, a senior lawyer asked a colleague almost hanging on his chair’s right arm? “Yes. The case is going towards this direction,” he responded slightly in low tone.
Tuesday’s hearing witnessed that worthy judges were in no mood of buying meandering arguments from both parties’ lawyers in this case. Perhaps, Mr Bokhari could not conclude the arguments in a way he put some punching questions even lived to expectation of PTI Chairman Imran Khan in previous hearing. Sitting with JI Amir Sirajul Haq and Jehangir Tareen he looked serious during the course of entire proceeding on Tuesday.
The day started with usual enthusiasm and Mr Bokhari resumed his arguments but by and large he repeated questions he put before judges on November 30. In his 63-minute arguments, Bokhari tried to convince the apex court to buy the stance of his client but the judges called spade a spade that the law shall take its course.
It happened first time since PanamaLeaks case being heard in the apex court when both parties’ legal teams struggled to put solid arguments before the judges in favour of their clients. Both parties, however, could not completely satisfy to the bench even PTI, Jamaat-e-Islami and Awami Muslim League have been played their innings.
“Yes, Sharifs’ counsel still have enough time and enough arguments to win this race,” commented Zafarullah Khan, a key member of Premier Sharif’s close aide. For the first time PTI’s entire top leadership—Imran Khan, Jehangir Tareen, Shah Mehmood Qureshi—was seen standing almost three hours in front of rostrum, whispering time and again into each other’s ears.
PML-N senior leaders Marriyum Aurangzaib, Danial Aziz, Talal Chaudhry, Tariq Fazl Chaudhry kept murmuring but stuck to their chairs except Abid Sher Ali who witnessed the whole proceedings standing right to his party’s legal team. Then a moment came when an SC lawyer stunned everyone in the courtroom complaining there is no chair for him to sit on. The chief justice interrupted and asked him, even in bit anger, “Please. Stop disturbing us.”
The court also witnessed an episode of luxury BMW of Maryam Nawaz Sharif which amused many, even judges, who were stunned to know how it [BMW] earned profit of tens of millions in a year.
“My lords it was a gift from the UAE — gifts always remained a productive reality,” Bokhari remarked. While MNAs Dr Shireen Mazari, Shafqat Mahmood of PTI and State Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb and Attorney General Ashtar Ausaf Ali were seriously witnessing the whole proceeding in the courtroom where all were otherwise whispering to each other’s ears.
Naeem Bokhari thanked the judges for hearing his arguments even he exchanged lively words about his age trying to flatter worthy judges. Then it was Sheikh Rashid who put his arguments before the court but by and large it was like a press conference on the rostrum. While he kept amusing lawyers, journalists, judges, politicians and staff of the SC with his political remarks, many visitors were focusing on hundreds of books beatifically decorated in front of the judges.
Even one of ushers regularly kept reading the book of Constitution of Pakistan while guys from Special Branch kept gazing at journalists who were complaining of bad sound system especially installed for them.
Once again a heated moment came when Salman Butt took the stage. “The man in focus is up now,” whispered Fawad Chaudhry of PTI into ears of this correspondent who was hanging on his chair’s left arm fixed a few feet away from worthy judges.
The question of Maryam Nawaz’s dependency on her father came under discussion. “It is a serious question—we want to know it,” Imran Khan told journalists during a tea break in the courtroom. “She is not a dependent—this is our stance and yes we are proving it,” Salman Butt argued. Seriousness again prevailed and Mr Butt tried his best to prove his stance until the court asked him to resume his arguments again today (Dec 7).
