ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan has requested the Supreme Court to reject Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader Hanif Abbasi’s case seeking his disqualification as well as that of his party’s secretary general, Jehangir Tareen.

The petition was moved by the PML-N leader for alleged non-disclosure of offshore companies by Mr Khan and Mr Tareen. It also alleged that the PTI was a foreign-funded party.

Headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, a three-judge Supreme Court bench will commence hearing of the case. Justice Umar Ata Bandial and Justice Faisal Arab will be the other members of the bench.

In a fresh three-page application, the PTI chief contended before the court that Mr Abbasi had failed to implead the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) as well as the federal government as parties in his petition when they were necessary parties in the case. This was a ‘fatal defect’ which could not be cured, the application said.

The petitioner has already submitted an amended plea to the court with a request to consider the federal government and ECP as respondents in the petition.

Mr Khan also referred to the contention of the petitioner in which it was stated that the Niazi Services Limited (NSL) — an offshore company — since its incorporation has been regularly filing its annual returns as required under the applicable laws of Jersey, Channel Islands, as well as its statement of annual share capital and shares required and that such statement of the year 1988 was submitted through its directors Ms Uzma Khan and Aleema Khan who happen to be sisters of Mr Khan and Benamidars.

The PTI chief said that neither Uzma Khan nor Aleema Khan had been impleaded or sought to be impleaded as parties in the petition when they were also necessary parties. Likewise, there was no averment in the entire petition in respect of the federation of Pakistan which is now being sought to be belatedly impleaded, the application deplored.

Moreover, the ECP had already rejected reference No 17(21) of 2016 against Mr Khan through its decision of March 16, the application argued, adding that Hanif Abbasi’s petition itself was not bona fide having been filed as counterblast to Mr Khan’s petition in the Panama Papers case.

The petitioner, Mr Khan alleged, was also an accused in the infamous “ephedrine scam” and was defeated by him in the 2013 election in a Rawalpindi constituency.

The petition merely contained filings meant to establish loyalty to the current prime minister whose legitimacy was to be determined by a joint investigation team (JIT) being constituted in line with the Panama Papers case judgement.

Published in Dawn, May 3rd, 2017