ISLAMABAD: The Chief Justice of Pakistan on Monday said that the court cannot summon those listed as parties in the foreign assets case unless specific information is provided by the petitioner.
The CJP Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry made these remarks during the hearing of the case regarding foreign assets of civil and military officers.
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court said it would hear the petition regarding foreign assets and formed a larger bench to conduct the hearing today (Monday).
The petition was filed in the apex court by former Information Minister Mohammad Ali Durrani. The petition states that certain Pakistani civilian and military officials, politicians and businessmen have made money through illegal means and subsequently laundered it to Switzerland and other countries.
The Supreme Court in today’s hearing directed the petitioner to amend the petition to make it more relevant.
The chief justice told the petitioner that the court cannot invoke foreign parties to assist in the investigation, as the petition had suggested.
"We are a sovereign state,” the chief justice told the petitioner. “We can't invite anyone from abroad to help us out.”
He also told the petitioner that he should not confine his allegations to political parties, adding that the flight of capital to specific countries must be ascertained.
"You have mentioned PPP, PML-N, MQM and PML-Q. We can't summon everyonme," the chief justice said.
The court has now adjourned the hearing for two weeks and ordered the petitioner to file new papers.
COMMENTS (3)
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It is the duty of the newly appointed Chairman of NAB to assist the Supreme Court of Pakistan and provide a list of such people who have transferred the country’s wealth and have purchased assets in foreign countries.
The accountability should be across the board and no leniency should be made. The job of Chairman NAB will not be finished when the country’s wealth will be deposited in governments account, but these people should also be severely punished to teach lesson for the other people.
When all the illegally transferred wealth will arrive in Pakistan, the government should pay off the loans back to the borrowers and only then Pakistan will be able to make a balanced foreign policy based on equality.
It is only fair that everybody who has a business, loans waived, or held a top military position including the wealth of Ayub and Zia's families be included. What were the asetts of Zia and Ayub before they become the generals and what are their family assetts now? Similarly the families like Humayun Akhter, Salif Safiullah, who have always been a part of all govts and biggest loan absconders who have never seen a day in jail be brought to justice. It is foolish to think that targetting a few political leaders again and again is going to change anything. We have put Zardari in jail for 11 long years (while the current judges on various courts) only to see him elected to become president. The case is a political gimmick and targeting the same political enemies is only going to go in circles all over again.