SC dealt leniently with Sharif Family in Hudaibiya case: Aitzaz

F.P. Report

LAHORE: Leader of Opposition in Senate Aitzaz Ahsan on Monday said the Supreme Court dealt leniently with the Sharif family in the Hudaibiya Paper Mills case.

Speaking to media outside the Lahore High Court (LHC), the senator claimed that the apex court dealt “light-handedly with the Sharif family” – a decision that was beyond his understanding. “Jahangir Tareen presented his money trail, Nawaz Sharif, on the other hand, did not even produce a single paper,” he said, adding, “An iqama is used to keep money in secret off-shore bank accounts.. it is a much more serious crime than Panama [papers].”

Expressing his reservations over the Supreme Court’s dismissal of the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) appeal to re-open the Hudaibiya case, Aitzaz said such decisions would weaken confidence in the courts.“Trust is established through verdicts, not clarifications,” he said, taking aim at Chief Justice of Pakistan’s statements on the apex court’s verdict.

CJP Justice Mian Saqib Nisar recently said the judiciary was akin to an elder, wise person whose advice everyone sought, and urged the public to stop doubting the integrity of the judiciary and criticising the judiciary for verdicts against them. The Rs1.2 billion Hudaibiya Paper Mills case, involving money laundering charges against the Sharif family, was initiated by NAB in 2000 but quashed by the Lahore High Court (LHC) in 2014. The NAB had appealed the LHC decision in the Supreme Court.