Days after the Supreme Court announced a historic verdict in the Panamagate case, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar on Monday urged Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan — the petitioner in the case — to play his role in ending the atmosphere of mistrust of the country’s judiciary.
“Being a leader of the nation you carry a major responsibility. You are not an individual… Your one call may cause chaos or stability in the country,” Justice Nisar said during the hearing of a case regarding encroachment of land in Bani Gala. The CJP had taken suo motu notice after the PTI chief wrote a letter to the former, seeking his intervention in the matter.
Heading a three-judge bench of the apex court, Justice Nisar also observed that people approach courts as they place their trust in the justice system. “However, the atmosphere of mistrust must end,” he remarked.
Addressing the PTI chairman, the CJP said: “Since you are a busy person therefore you don’t need to appear in court every day rather you should send a legal team which could guide the court.”
Later, speaking to the media outside SC, Imran expressed his gratitude to the CJP for taking up his case besides lauding the top court’s five-judge bench, which heard the Panamagate case, for writing down a “historic verdict”.
The PTI chief went on to say that his party played its role in restoration of independent judiciary in the country and it would still stand by the apex court over the Panamagate case verdict.
On Thursday, the SC declared that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his family failed to justify how they accumulated their offshore assets. The larger bench of the apex court, however, could not reach a consensus on the disqualification of the premier and hence ordered the formation of a joint investigation team (JIT) to settle the saga that started with the Mossack Fonseka leaks just over a year ago.
