ISLAMABAD:Focus remained on Maryam Nawaz’s finances and expenditures in the Supreme Court on Wednesday as the hearing of the Panamagate case resumed.
Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali was presiding over a five-member bench of the apex court hearing the case when Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed asked, “How are Maryam Nawaz’s expenditures covered?”
Justice Saeed said that according to tax return records, Maryam Nawaz’s taxable income is zero. He added that the prime minister’s daughter has no job or source of income.
“The sources of her finance are gifts that she received from her brothers and her father and agriculture,” Justice Azmat added.
“In her tax returns, Maryam has stated her income as Rs21million while her travel costs are Rs35million,” Justice Azmat said.
During the hearing, Justice Azmat told Salman Aslam Butt, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s counsel, that his arguments so far had not helped resolve whether or not Maryam Nawaz was a dependent of the premier.
Justice Azmat inquired after the 43-kanal agricultural land in Mansehra district, which is worth Rs243 million and was declared under the name of Maryam Nawaz by the prime minister in his 2011-12 income tax returns.
“When did Maryam Nawaz give the prime minister money for the land?” Justice Azmat asked.
Salman Butt told the apex court that the land was bought on April 19, 2011. He said that the prime minister had given the money for the land as a gift to his daughter, who later returned the amount to him in the form of the land.
During yesterday’s hearing, Salman Butt, referring to the 2011-12 income tax returns of the prime minister, said his client had to declare the purchase of the agricultural land in the name of his daughter because there was no separate column in the tax returns for independent children.
But mentioning her name in column 12 of the tax returns, Butt had argued, did not mean that she was her father’s dependant. The system would have not accepted the returns had the prime minister concealed the property because it was electronic filing, he explained.
The apex court then asked the counsel to consult with their clients whether they would prefer a commission to be formed to probe the case further or to have the court make decisions.
The hearing was subsequently adjourned to Dec 9.
Court verdict in Panama case to prove last nail in coffin of corruption:PTI
ISLAMABAD: PTI leader Naeem ul Haq has said Panama case will come to end within a few days and court’s decision will prove a last nail in the coffin of corruption while Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif will not be able to retain his office.
“Those indulged in corruption have been exposed before the entire nation. The lies told by PM stand unveiled now. Panama case will come to end within a few days and the Verdict which the nation is waiting for will come. Court’s decision will be proved last nail in the coffin of corruption and PM Nawaz Sharif will not be able to retain his office”, he said this while talking to media men here Wednesday.
He said that Suleman Butt, counsel for PM accepted before the court that he was not having documents in respect of matters pertaining to 1980. He tried to tell the court as if 1980 was a period from stone age or 1780 or 1880.
PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry said arguments given by Suleman Butt during the hearing of the case were like “ I don’t know, Abba jee has done”.
Butt is going to file mercy appeal straight with SC and he is left with no legal arguments any more, Fawad stated.
3 points came under discussion during the hearing of the case, Fawad said. The most important point was trail of money.
With reference to dependency of Maryam Nawaz, the judges asked what address was recorded on her identity card. The court was told that address of Model Town and Jatti Umra was recorded on the identity card.
He held that judges said that the income earned out of agriculture land owned by Maryam Nawaz was Rs 2.1 million but her annual travelling expenses stand at Rs 3.5 million and how he will explain it.
Suleman Butt said about PM speech on the floor of assembly that these are political things and political people deliver political speeches, Fawad stated. It means PM address to parliament is of no meaning, he added.
Coffin of PTI & AML false politics to emerge from court: Abid Sher Ali
ISLAMABAD: PML-N leader Abid Sher Ali criticized Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) saying coffin of PTI’s and Awami Muslim League (AML) politics based on lies will emerge from the Supreme Court.
Speaking outside the apex court, the PML-N leader said the PTI’s untruth was witnessed by the entire nation, adding any decision to institute an inquiry commission will be taken up by the court alone.
He requested the court to take up the case for hearing on daily basis . Criticizing the PTI, Abid Sher Ali said that where are the evidences of those who were shouting and waving documents. PTI has not provided these evidences to court so far.
He said that Imran Khan changed the lawyer and has now appointed such a lawyer who represented the dictator Pervez Musharraf against us and PML-N leadership in the court but nothing was proved against us at that time too.
