- Issues notice to Imran over Bani Gala money trail
ISLAMABAD, May 9: The Supreme Court on Tuesday continued hearing a case filed by PML-N leader Hanif Abbasi seeking disqualification of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan.
A three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice Saqib Nisar, ordered Imran Khan to submit affidavit along with his response in the case relating to his offshore companies after lawyer Akram Sheikh, representing Abbasi, requested the court to disqualify Imran Khan from the National Assembly.
Justice Saqib Nisar, in his remarks, said that the petitioner has raised objections encompassing five clauses against the PTI chief, of which the party funding matter is the most prominent.
The Chief Justice questioned Akram Sheikh if he wanted Imran Khan disqualified based on the decision of the minority, in a pointed reference to the Panama case verdict. To this, Advocate Akram Sheikh replied that it is the majority’s decision which counts and that this case was separate from the Panama case.
Imran Khan’s lawyer Naeem Bukhari said all documents relevant to the case have been submitted to the court. He added that he would submit Imran Khan’s affidavit on Wednesday.
The apex court on Monday issued a notice to Imran Khan, asking where he got the amount from to buy his Bani Gala house.
A Civil Miscellaneous Application submitted to the court stated that an amount of US$660,693 was transferred by Imran’s ex-wife Jemima to the account of Rashid Ali Khan in Citibank, the operations of which have now ended, during 2002-2003.
In one of his statements, Imran had said he had taken a loan from Jemima for his Bani Gala residence. The ownership of the issue remained unclear because the money Imran needed to complete the payment was around Rs30 million, while the amount transferred during that period was more than that was required. -Agencies
