اردو
  • Panamagate: Chaudhry Nisar rejects SC verdict as 'split decision'

    Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan

    Minister for Interior Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Friday said there was no pressure on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ahead of the Panama verdict.

    “There was no pressure on him (Nawaz Sharif) before the verdict and there is no pressure after the judgment,” said Nisar at a press conference in Islamabad.

    The Supreme Court ruled on Thursday there was insufficient evidence to order the prime minister's removal from office but called for further investigation into corruption allegations in connection with the so-called Panama Papers leaks.

    A five-member bench was split three votes to two in favor of Nawaz Sharif retaining his position.

    On Friday, opposition chanted slogans demanding the premier’s resignation and tore up the assembly's agenda for the day, before the speaker suspended the session, television footage showed.

    "I was the petitioner in the case, the hearing continued for four months, at least I should have been allowed to speak in the parliament," PTI Chairman Imran Khan later told reporters outside the assembly.

    The Supreme Court, in its 549-page judgment, ordered a joint investigation team be formed to look into allegations around three of Nawaz Sharif’s four children using offshore companies to buy properties in London.

    The investigating team has two months to complete its inquiry, after which a special bench will decide what action to take, the court said.

    The prime minister and his children deny any wrongdoing.

    The joint investigation team will comprise members from six different government bodies including intelligence agencies and financial regulatory authorities.