Supreme Court of Pakistan. PHOTO: AFP
The appeal was heard by Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed in his chambers and the international firm, Broadsheet LLC, was represented by Sardar Latif Khosa. Observing that since a three-member apex court bench had directed against making Volume 10 public, the decision to provide Broadsheet LLC with a copy of the said document will also be made by an apex court bench.
Avenfield reference: Focus shifts to volume 10 of JIT report during Zia's cross-examination
Speaking to The Express Tribune, Khosa’s assistant Shahbaz Khosa said the Justice Saeed had sustained the application for regular hearings and keeping in view that Volume 10 was sealed by the full court, Justice Saeed also fixed a hearing before July 30.
Meanwhile, an international arbitrator will be hearing the same case in London later today.
The firm had approached the apex court after the international arbitration court sought a copy of Volume 10 from the attorney general of Pakistan, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and Broadsheet in a case pertaining to payments.
Firm seeking Volume 10 told to submit papers
However, the SC Registrar had returned the plea by raising objections. On May 16, Justice Saeed sought additional documents from Broadsheet’s attorney during an in-chamber hearing. According to the application, the documents had been submitted.
Case history
In 2000, Broadsheet LLC, based in the Isle of Man, began working for and on behalf of the Government of Pakistan and NAB to recover hidden and unlawfully obtained assets of high-ranking individuals and officials from Pakistan.
However, disputes pertaining to an agreement dated June 20, 2,000 between both the parties were referred to the international arbitration in London where litigation before the sole arbitrator, Sir Anthony Evans, concluded in an interim award in terms of liability.
A May 2008 agreement showed that the two parties had reached consensus on a payment of US$1.5 million. However, according to official documents, Broadsheet LLC filed a case against NAB in the International Court of Arbitration on grounds that it did not receive payment.
Subsequently, Broadsheet slammed a US$700 million lawsuit on Pakistan.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ