The Pakistan Supreme Court on Friday dismissed the review petitions filed by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, his children, and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar against the court’s verdict in the Panama Papers case, Dawn reported.
On July 28, a five-judge bench of the court had disqualified Sharif as an MP, following which he had to step down as the prime minister. The court had also ordered the filing of corruption charges against Sharif’s children Hussain, Hassan and Maryam Nawaz, his son-in-law Mohammad Safdar, and Ishaq Dar, the finance minister.
“For reasons to be recorded later, all the review petitions are dismissed,” Justice Khosa announced on Friday. The Sharif family and Dar will now face corruption charges filed by Pakistan’s National Accountability Bureau, in the accountability court.
The Supreme Court had set up a Joint Investigation Team after Sharif was named in the Panama Papers leak in 2016. The leaked documents from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca had revealed that three of his children owned offshore companies and undisclosed assets, including four expensive flats in Park Lane, London.
Sharif’s party, the Pakistan Muslim League–Nawaz, expressed disappointment at the court ruling on Friday. Minister for Information Technology, Anusha Rahman, said the court should have reconsidered its verdict to disqualify Sharif. However, Opposition leader and former cricketer Imran Khan welcomed the verdict, thanking the Pakistan Supreme Court for “ending the rule of the mafia”.
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