Till Monday: Judge’s illness puts off Panamagate hearing

PML-N favours a longer adjournment but PTI wants early trial.

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court’s five-judge larger bench has adjourned hearing of the Panamagate case initially till Monday [Feb 6] in view of the health condition of a bench member, Justice Azmat Saeed Sheikh, who was hospitalised on Tuesday due to chest pain.

“One of our brother judges (Justice Azmat Saeed Sheikh) suffered chest pain and was rushed to Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology on Tuesday evening,” Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, who heads the bench, said on Wednesday.

Justice Khosa clarified: “According to doctors, no surgical intervention is required as blockage has been removed.” However, he said, the doctors have advised Justice Sheikh to take three to four days’ rest during which he will remain under observation in the hospital.



Justice Sheikh, known for his sense of humour, has expertise in white-collar crime cases. He was part of the SC bench that took up the Panamagate issue in November 2016 and conducted 10 hearings of the case until retirement of the former chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali.

He was also nominated in the new bench that has conducted 20 hearings of the case involving the offshore companies of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s family members and their foreign properties.

The roster for the next week’s benches does not include hearing of Panamagate case. The judges, who are part of that larger bench, are sitting on different benches. According to the roster, a member of the bench, Justice Gulzar Ahmad will sit in Karachi registry next week.



A senior official told The Express Tribune that the current roster is tentative and can be changed in the next couple of days. He said the final cause list for the next week will be issued on Friday. It is learnt that PTI chief Imran Khan sent the ailing judge flowers and his good wishes.

Petition against PTI chief

Paying back the PTI in its own coin, the PML-N on Wednesday moved a plea for early hearing of constitutional petitions seeking disqualification of PTI chief Imran Khan and leader Jahangir Tareen as lawmakers due to alleged concealment of sources of income.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 2^nd, 2017.