Will do all to dig out truth about Imran’s property: CJP

Top court also seeks complete record of PTI’s foreign funding case from ECP

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar has said that the Supreme Court “will do everything” to dig out the truth about the purchase of 300 kanals of land in Bani Gala near Islamabad, owned by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan.

The remarks came on Thursday as a three-judge bench of the top court continued hearing of a petition filed by Hanif Abbasi, a Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader, seeking disqualification of the PTI chief for ‘illegal possession’ of properties and ‘tax theft’.

“We will do everything – like summoning the record or asking for a detailed probe – to find out the truth,” remarked the chief justice.

The bench raised almost a dozen questions over the money trail to the Bani Gala property presented before the court, as serious discrepancies have been found in the property purchase documents.

Naeem Bukhari, the counsel for the PTI chief, sought more time to answer the questions and said Imran’s former wife Jemima Khan would be requested to supply relevant banking transaction record.



However, Akram Sheikh, the counsel for the petitioner, objected to the grant of more time. Sheikh also pointed out that Rashid Khan – the man presented as agent for transferring the money from Jemima – was a director of the Bank of Khyber.

Bukhari, on his turn, contended that all the funds had been transferred via banking channels.

But Justice Faisal Arab wondered how Rashid could have paid the seller nine months before receiving the amount from Jemima.

Addressing Bukhari, the chief justice said, “You need to establish how Rashid paid the money to the seller even before receiving the amount from Jemima as you claim that Rashid acted as postmaster in this matter.”

The bench also raised questions over the construction documents, besides asking the PTI chief to provide Jemima’s complete bank statements. “Details regarding how she transferred the amount to Rashid’s account are missing. We do not know if Jemima paid the amount through cheque or cash.”

Dissatisfied with the revenue record regarding the transfer of land in Jemima’s name, the bench asked Imran to reconcile the record where Jemima is shown as his ‘wife’ even after the divorce.

 



The honourable judges also wondered why Imran failed to disclose his ownership of an offshore company – Niazi Services Limited – when filing nomination papers in 2002 as well as wealth tax statement.

Similarly, the bench noted how Jemima was returned the amount by an offshore company when Imran claimed that the company had no assets except the London flat.

The bench also directed the PTI chief’s counsel to inform the court about how offshore companies are formed and why they are created in the first place.

Meanwhile, the bench sought a complete record of the PTI’s foreign funding case from the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

The hearing was adjourned till Tuesday.