ISLAMABAD: Supreme Court of Pakistan on Wednesday resumed the hearing of Panamagate case as Prime Minister Nawaz Sharifs counsel continues his arguments before the bench after he raised the issue of immunity in previous hearing.
A five-member Bench, headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa is hearing the case on daily basis. Other bench members are Justice Ejaz Afzal, Justice Gulzar Ahmed, Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed and Justice Ijaz ul Ahsan.
It should be mentioned here that petitioners including Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Awami Muslim League (AML) have already completed their arguments.
The Prime Ministers counsel Makhdoom Ali Khan continued with his arguments. He said that the Prime Minister's daughter Maryam Nawaz was not his dependent.
Makhdoom Khan told the court that the accusations of tax evasion made against the prime minister are incorrect. He added that the Prime Minister had given Maryam 'gifts' through a bank, and other money transfers to his childrens accounts had also been made via bank.
Prime Minister gave presents to Maryam Nawaz through banks, said PMs counsel in the case hearing.
Justice Gulzar Ahmed questioned Makhdoom Ali Khan that why bank records were not attested. You must have submitted documents in the court along with the reply, he told PMs counsel.
Makhdoom Ali Khan informed the court that it was a tough process to obtain certificates from all the banks. We do not want to hide anything from the court, he claimed.
At this point Justice Ejaz Afzal said that if the court accepts unverified documents the documents of the other party should have to be accepted as well. The criteria for both the parties will be the same, he added.
The Prime Minister's counsel argued that everyone has the right to keep his bank details private.
Khan maintained that Maryam Nawaz's name was listed as the PM's dependent on tax forms because there was no other column on the sheet. "The purpose of writing her name on the form was not to declare her a dependent," the lawyer argued.
The hearing has been postponed till January 19 (Thursday).
During the proceedings on Tuesday, Maryam Nawaz Sharif submitted her reply in the court and reiterated that she was never dependent to father Nawaz Sharif after her marriage while PM Sharif sought indirect immunity under Article-248.
Later, leaders of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) furiously defended PM Sharif before the media and insisted that he has not sought any immunity for himself.
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