Friday brings mixed fortunes for key PML-N, PTI leaders

Lahore : While Friday (July 28, 2017) had brought tough luck for the then premier Nawaz Sharif as he was disqualified by the Supreme Court for being dishonest to the parliament and the courts in not disclosing his employment in the Dubai-based Capital FZE Company in his 2013 nomination papers, this fifth day of the week has brought joy for his arch political rival, Imran Khan, who just managed to survive a disqualification case by the skin of his teeth about 137 days later on yet another Friday (December 15, 2017).

The three-member apex court bench, which comprised Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, Justice Umar Ata Bandial and Justice Faisal Arab, announced the decision about 82 minutes behind schedule at 3.22 pm yesterday.

Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Saqib Nisar, sought an apology for the delay and explained that a mistake on one page had prompted the adjudicators to go through and revisit all 250 pages of the verdict.

Friday (December 15, 2017) also brought relief for ousted Premier Nawaz Sharif's younger brother and incumbent Punjab Chief Minister, Shahbaz Sharif, and former Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, after a three-member Supreme Court bench dismissed National Accountability Bureau (NAB)'s appeal to reopen the Rs. 1.242 billion Hudaibiya Paper Mills case that involved money laundering charges against various members of the Sharif family.

The accused in this case also included Shahbaz Sharif and his 43-year old political heir-apparent, Hamza Shahbaz, who began his political career in 1999 when the then Army Chief and country's ruler, General Pervez Musharraf, had dethroned and sent his father Shahbaz Sharif and uncle Nawaz Sharif into exile following the October 12, 1999 coup.

Initiated by NAB during March 2000 and quashed by the Lahore High Court on March 11, 2014, the NAB had appealed against the LHC decision, but to no avail!

In this particular case, former Finance Minister, Ishaq Dar, had recorded a confessional statement on April 25, 2000 in front of a magistrate in Lahore, whereby accepting his role in laundering money. Dar had claimed that he had made the 'confession' under duress and disowned the statement.

Hearing the case since November 28, the Supreme Court bench comprising Justices Mushir Alam, Qazi Faez Isa and Mazhar Alam Miankhel had announced its judgment in a majority decision.

And Friday (December 15, 2017) brought bad news for Imran Khan's key aide and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf's Secretary General, Jahengir Tareen, who was disqualified for life after the three Supreme Court judges had found him to be dishonest under Article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution and Section 99 of Representation of People Act (ROPA).

While reading the verdict against Tareen, Pakistan's Chief Justice, Mian Saqib Nisar, observed that he (Tareen) had done insider trading at the stock exchange under the names of his driver and cook.

The two other arbiters on the bench were Justices Umar Ata Bandial and Faisal Arab.

During this particular case, which lasted 405 days, lawyers from both sides had presented their arguments for 101 hours and referred to 73 different cases as precedent during the course of 51 hearings.

Connected with the planet Venus in Astrology and also associated with the astrological signs Libra and Taurus, Friday is considered a day of peace and mercy in Islam.

Research conducted by the "Jang Group and Geo Network" shows that some extremely important cases in Pakistan's political and judicial history have been adjudicated by the Supreme Court of Pakistan on Fridays.

Prior to the Panama Case, the following historic cases were also decided by the Apex Pakistani court on Fridays: —

— The Provisional Constitutional Order Judges case (also known as the PCO Judges case) was decided by the Supreme Court of Pakistan on July 31, 2009 (Friday).

The Supreme Court of Pakistan had declared all the steps taken on November 3, 2007 by the then President Pervez Musharraf as illegal and unconstitutional under the Article 279 of the Constitutional. General Musharraf had proclaimed Emergency in the country on November 3, 2007.

The Supreme Court also declared the steps taken in declaring the state of emergency to be null and void, and specifically stated that the removal of judges was unconstitutional and illegal.

This included the removal from office of the Chaudhry and other justices. The appointment of Justice Dogar and of all justices between November 3, 2007 and March 24, 2008 was deemed unconstitutional. Musharraf's increase to the number of justices, accomplished through a finance bill, was declared unconstitutional, and the number of justices was set at 17.

The verdict did not change the legality of the new government, nor that of the presidential oath taken by Asif Zardari. The verdict also referred the issue of the Provisional Constitutional Order judges to the Supreme Judicial Council.

— On July 20, 2007 (Friday), the 13-member bench of the Supreme Court had set aside the Presidential reference against the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, and declared invalid the Presidential action sending the Chief Justice on forced leave. The Chief Justice, who was deposed on March 9, 2007 by the then Pakistani head of state General Musharraf, was reinstated in office as a result of this decision.

By majority of 10 to 3 (with Justice Faqir Muhammad Khokhar, Justice Javed Buttar and Justice Saiyed Saeed Ashhad dissenting), the Constitution Original Petition No.21 of 2007 filed by Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, the Chief Justice of Pakistan, was hence set aside by the learned court.

—On September 28, 2007 (Friday), the Supreme Court had allowed the then President Pervez Musharraf to contest the Presidential election in uniform. The court had finished hearing opposition petitions that said Musharraf, a key US ally who led a coup eight years ago in October 1999, was ineligible to contest the Presidential election on October 6, 2007 while he was still serving as Army chief.

Musharraf had been at loggerheads with the Supreme Court since his botched attempt in March 2007 to remove the country's chief justice, a move that had sparked mass protests and sent the President's popularity plummeting.