Pak SC to announce Panamagate verdict tomorrow

Islamabad [Pakistan], April 19 (ANI): The Pakistan Supreme Court will announce the verdict of Panama Papers case on Thursday. The judgement will be announced by a five-member larger bench, headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa on slew of petitions seeking disqualification of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in the wake of explosive disclosures of the Panama Papers, reports The Express Tribune. The bench had reserved its verdict on February 23 and said that it will review all angles of the case in detail and then announce a verdict. Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan, Jamaat-i-Islami chief Sirajul Haq and Awami Muslim League head Sheikh Rashid Ahmed had filed a petition in the apex court to disqualify Sharif for making alleged misstatements in his speech in the National Assembly on May 16 and in his address to the nation on April 5 last year, regarding investments made by his children in offshore companies that led to the purchase of four upscale flats in London. The bench had said that the Panama case verdict will be a long judgement. A member of the larger bench Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan had observed that the Panamagate verdict would not just concern the Sharif family, but it would, in fact, set in motion a law which would last for centuries. Justice Khosa had said that the court will decide the case only after considering the material submitted in the court and will announce its verdict in accordance with the law and the Constitution. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Naeem-ul-Haq said that the party is ready to accept the apex court's verdict on the Panamagate case. Echoing similar sentiments, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz's leader Talal Chaudhry said, "We will accept the decision." Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, who is one of the petitioners in this case, vowed to accept whatever verdict the great judges put forth, adding the further course of action will be discussed with Imran Khan. (ANI)