The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed the review petitions filed by deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif, his children and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar against the apex court’s Panama Papers judgement of July 28.
The court had reserved its verdict on the review petitions after the lawyers for the petitioners completed their arguments earlier in the day.
A five-judge SC bench, headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, had taken up the petitions seeking review of the court’s July 28 judgement which disqualified Nawaz Sharif and ordered the filing of corruption references against Sharif, his children — Hussain, Hassan and Maryam Nawaz — son-in-law retired Captain Mohammad Safdar, and incumbent Finance Minister Ishaq Dar.
“For reasons to be recorded later, all these review petitions are dismissed,” Justice Khosa announced.
With the rejection of the review petitions, Sharif’s disqualification as a member of the parliament remains valid. The Sharif family and Dar will now face corruption references filed by the National Accountability Bureau(NAB) in the accountability court.
The apex court on Friday also disposed of an application filed by Awami Muslim League (AML) leader Sheikh Rashid against NAB, accusing the latter of failing to file an appeal regarding the Hudaibiya Paper Mills case in accordance with the SC verdict.
The court decided the application after NAB prosecutor general Waqas Qadeer Dar stated before the bench that the NAB chairman had approved and ordered the filing of an appeal in SC to challenge the 2014 decision of the Lahore High Court to close the Hudaibiya Paper Mills case.
“The learned prosecutor general has undertaken that the requisite appeal shall be filed before this Court within the next seven days without fail,” the court’s short order said. The bench subsequently disposed of the application after Sheikh Rashid did not press it following the NAB prosecutor’s assurance.
Source: Dawn
