SC takes up Hussain Nawaz’s plea against two JIT members on Monday

ISLAMABAD: The Special Bench for Implementation of PanamaLeaks case will take up on May 29 (Monday) the application of Hussain Nawaz Sharif, son of Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, who had expressed reservations about the two members of the Joint Investigation Team (JIT), formed for probing allegations of financial irregularities and money laundering, allegedly involving the prime minister and his family for establishing properties abroad.

Sources confided to The News that a three-member Special Bench for Implementation,  headed by Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan, has fixed on May 29, the hearing in the application, moved by Hussain Nawaz, having reservation about the two members of the Joint Investigation Team (JIT).

Hussain Nawaz, the other day, objected to two members of the Jjoint Investigation Team (JIT) formed by the Supreme Court in the leaks case. These members represent the State Bank of Pakistan and Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP).

Legal experts, however, believes that any order passed by the apex court is final and being ultimate adjudicator  and the finality attached with the order of the Supreme Court is only reviewed by the court itself, hence nobody can raise an objection to the order passed by the Supreme Court.

He blamed these members of having political connections and demanded to replace them. According to sources, Hussain Nawaz submitted a written plea to the Supreme Court's registrar in which he raised the objection to two JIT members--Amir Aziz of the SBP and Bilal Rasool of the SECP. It was contended in the application that these two JIT members have links with former President of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). Hussain Nawaz had also requested the Special Bench to replace the two Panama JIT members for transparent and unbiased inquiry.

It is pertinent to mention here that a three-member Special Bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan, had constituted the Joint Investigation Team to probe allegations of financial irregularities and money laundering, allegedly involving the prime minister and his family for establishing properties abroad. The court had formed the JIT in line with the verdict announced on April 20 by the five-member larger bench of the Supreme Court in the Panama Papers.

The Special bench constituted a six-member Joint Investigation Team (JIT), headed by Wajid Zia, Additional Director General at the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).  Other members of the investigation team include Brigadier Kamran Khurshid from the Military Intelligence (MI), Brigadier Muhammad Nauman Saeed from the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Amer Aziz from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Bilal Rasool, an executive director at the Securities Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) and Irfan Naeem Mangi, a Director at the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

The court had empowered the JIT to engage and associate local and foreign experts to facilitate the investigation and collection of evidence in line with the letter and spirit of order passed by the five-member larger bench on April 20, 2017.

Similarly, the court directed the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to commence and complete the investigation and submit its final report in terms of the order passed by the larger bench on April 20, 2017, and the JIT should also submit fortnightly progress reports as stipulated in the said order.

In pursuance of the court’s order, the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) the other day submitted its preliminary report before the court and the court had expressed satisfaction with the progress of the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) probing the case. 

Additional Director-General (FIA) Wajid Zia, who is heading the JIT, had submitted the report to the bench. The court after examining the documents, directed the investigators to ensure their task is completed in a transparent manner no later than 60 days — as prescribed in the April 20 Panama case judgment.

Justice Shiekh Azmat Saeed, a member of the bench expressed satisfaction with the direction and progress of the probe, saying in case there is an unwillingness to share information from any official, the court should be informed so corrective action may be ordered.

 Meanwhile, after Hussain Nawaz plea, seeking replacement of the two JIT Members, legal experts believe that any order which includes every order passed by the apex court is final and being ultimate adjudicator.

According to Dr Babar Awan, senior lawyer of the Supreme Court the finality attached with the order of Supreme Court is only reviewed by the court itself. Nobody can raise an objection on the order passed by the Supreme Court because powers of review are vested in Supreme Court by virtue of Article 188 of the constitution wherein the Supreme Court has framed its Rules for Procedure and there is a separate chapter in the SC rules.

He said that in Panama Paper’s case the order of formation of Joint Investigation Team was passed with the consent of all the parties including Hussain Nawaz, being the respondent No 6 in the instant case.

It was open for Hussain Nawaz and all other parties wedded in the litigation of panama leaks to raise objections at the very outset, Babar Awan said.