ISLAMABAD
\nThe prime minister\u2019s counsel, as he resumed his arguments before the Supreme Court during hearing of the Panamagate case on Thursday, was quizzed about a money trail for the London flats and asked to prove there were no inconsistencies in the PM\u2019s speech in the National Assembly last year.
\nThe PM\u2019s counsel, Makhdoom Ali Khan, denied that his client had anything to do with the London flats before the five-judge bench headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa.
\nKhan argued that the family business was transferred to Nawaz Sharif\u2019s son, Hussain Nawaz after the death of Mian Sharif, the PM\u2019s father. \u201cNawaz Sharif had nothing to do with it,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cIf there was no connection, then how does the money trail lead to the London flats?\u201d Justice Khosa inquired. \u201cThere are two different money trails before us. How did the money go from Jeddah and then to London? And how did the money go from Dubai to London and then Qatar?\u201d
\nThe PM\u2019s counsel denied Nawaz Sharif had been a director of the family\u2019s Dubai factory.
\n\u201cHow can we believe that he was never the director?\u201d Justice Khosa asked. \u201cNo documents have been submitted before us to prove he was never the director.\u201d
\nKhan told the bench that the Dubai factory was established after taking a loan, upon which he admonished by a judge for presenting documents in court that did not make this apparent.
\nThe counsel in turn asked the court to form a commission \u201cto go to Dubai and review allegations made against the prime minister.\u201d
\nJustice Ijazul Hassan observed that the prime minister had recognised the Dubai mills and said all records are available. \u201cNow the burden of proof is on you,\u201d he told the PM\u2019s counsel.
\nKhan was of the opinion that presenting documents and proof is the petitioner\u2019s job.
\nJustice Khosa reiterated that \u201cthe prime minister\u2019s lawyer will have to satisfy the court\u201d regarding the ownership of the Dubai factory.
\nJustice Sheikh Azmat Saeed told Makhdoom Khan that the Panamagate case is based on contradictions in statements made by the prime miniser on the floor of the National Assembly after the Panama leaks last year.
\nThe judge, referring to the plaintiff\u2019s allegations that Nawaz Sharif provided incorrect statements, told the counsel, \u201cIf you disagree, then you will have to prove it.\u201d
\n\u201cIf there is a small mistake in the speech, it can be overlooked. But if mistakes were made on purpose, there will be serious consequences,\u201d Justice Ejaz Afzal warned.
\n\u201cWe do not believe that the speech was wrong but if something was hidden on purpose, we will consider that to be a half truth,\u201d Justice Khosa said.
\nThe counsel told the judge that the prime minister, in his speech, was providing an overview of his family\u2019s business.
\n\u201cHe was not taking an oath or answering a specific question,\u201d Khan said. \u201cThe prime minister\u2019s speech was not a statement in a court.\u201d
\nMakhdoom Khan said that there are two ways to remove the prime minister: the first is through the submission of a no-confidence motion. The second requires that Members of the National Assembly prove that the PM is dishonest.
\n\u201cThe Supreme Court, however, cannot disqualify him based on the statements and claims of others,\u201d Khan said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD The prime minister\u2019s counsel, as he resumed his arguments before the Supreme Court during hearing of the Panamagate case on Thursday, was quizzed about a money trail for the London flats and asked to prove there were no inconsistencies in the PM\u2019s speech in the National Assembly last year. The PM\u2019s counsel, Makhdoom Ali […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7282,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-9727","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n