ISLAMABAD: The accountability process against the Sharif family has apparently gained momentum as a three-member Supreme Court bench headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa, who also headed the bench which heard the Panama Papers case against Nawaz Sharif and disqualified him as prime minister, will start hearing the Hudaibiya Paper Mills case against the Sharif family from today.
The bench constituted by Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar on Friday also includes Justice Dost Muhammad Khan and Justice Mazhar Alam Minakhel. National Accountability Bureau (NAB) prosecutor general will appear on notice.
The NAB in its appeal to the apex court seeking re-opening of Hudaibiya Paper Mills case, which was closed by the Lahore High Court (LHC) in 2014, has named Nawaz Sharif, his brother Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif, their deceased brother Abbas Sharif and five other family members as respondents.
It may be recalled here that NAB has excluded the name of Finance Minister Ishaq Dar in its appeal against Hudaibiya Paper Mills case, owing to his confessional statement.
According to a senior official of the NAB as well as legal experts, re-opening of Hudaibiya Paper Mills case will create more troubles for the Sharif family which is already in hot waters facing multiple graft references in the accountability court, and particularly Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif who is being dubbed as PML-N’s next candidate for the office of the prime minister.
In its July 28, 2017 verdict in the Panama Papers case, the court had directed the NAB to re-open Hudaibiya Paper Mills case. However, when it did not open the case, Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad, chief of Awami Muslim League, moved the apex court seeking its direction to the NAB to reopen the case.
The NAB then filed an appeal in the Supreme Court on September 20, 2017 against the Lahore High Court (LHC) decision, wherein the court had quashed the case on March 11, 2014 and acquitted all the accused including Nawaz Sharif.
The NAB has urged the apex court to declare the LHC verdict as null and void in the interest of justice, fair play and equity. In its appeal, NAB has argued that the referee judge was not competent to set aside the findings of the high court, in which NAB had been allowed to re-initiate investigations against the Sharif family members.
The joint investigation team (JIT) formed by the Supreme Court to probe the Panama Papers case against Nawaz Sharif had recommended in its final report that the Hudaibiya Paper Mills case should be reopened.
In light of the JIT report, the Supreme Court in its verdict in the Panama Papers case had directed NAB to reopen the Hudaibiya case while filing references in other cases against the Sharif family.
The Hudaibiya Paper Mills money laundering reference was initiated in 2000 on the basis of an April 25, 2000, confessional statement by Ishaq Dar before a magistrate wherein he had admitted his role in laundering money to the tune of $14.86 million on behalf of the Sharif family through fictitious accounts. The witness was, however, pardoned by the then NAB chairman.
Hudaibiya Paper Mills was allegedly used as a cover by the Sharif family to launder the money outside the country in 90s.
LHC’s referee judge Justice Sardar Shamim Khan had quashed the reference on March 11, 2014, on the grounds that if a re-investigation was allowed against the Sharif family, it would provide an opportunity to the investigators to pad up lacunas.
The LHC had quashed the case as the PML-N continued to claim that Dar’s statement was taken under duress. Dar too had claimed that he made the confessional statement in duress and had later disowned the statement.
Published in Daily Times, November 13th 2017.
