- Constitution Petition No. 29 of 2016Dated: 20-April-2017(Panama Papers Scandal)
Constitution Petition No. 29 of 2016,Constitution Petition No. 30 of2016 &Constitution Petition No. 03 of 2017544ORDER OF THE COURT
By a majority of 3 to 2 (Asif Saeed Khan Khosa and Gulzar
Ahmed, JJ) dissenting, who have given separate declarations and
directions, we hold that the questions how did Gulf Steel Mill come
into being; what led to its sale; what happened to its liab
ilities;
where did its sale proceeds end up; how did they reach Jeddah,
Qatar and the U.K.; whether respondents No. 7 and 8 in view of their
tender ages had the means in the early nineties to possess and
purchase the flats; whether sudden appearance of the
letters of
Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jaber Al
-
Thani is a myth or a reality; how
bearer shares crystallized into the flats; who, in fact, is the real and
beneficial owner of M/s Nielsen Enterprises Limited and Nescoll
Limited, how did Hill Metal Establishment come into existence;
where did the money for Flagship Investment Limited and other
companies set up/taken over by respondent No. 8 come from, and
where did the Working Capital for such companies come from and
where do the huge sums running into millions gifted by respondent
No. 7 to respondent No. 1 drop in from, which go to the heart of the
matter and need to be answered. Therefore, a thorough
investigation in this behalf is required.
2.In normal circumstances, such exercise could be
conducted by the NAB
but when its Chairman appears to be
indifferent and even unwilling to perform his part, we are
constrained to look elsewhere and therefore, constitute a Joint
Investigation Team (JIT) comprising of the following members :
ii)
a senior Officer of the Federal
Investigation
Agency (FIA), not below the rank of
Additional Director General who shall head
the team having firsthand experience of
investigation of white collar crime and
related matters;
ii)
a
representative
of
the
National
Accountability Bureau (NAB)
;
iii)
a nominee of the Security & Exchange
Commission of Pakistan (SECP) familiar with
the issues of money laundering and white
collar crimes;
iv)
a nominee of the State Bank of Pakistan
(SBP);
v)
a seasoned Officer of Inter Services
Intelligence (IS
I) nominated by its Director
General; and
vi)a seasoned Officer of Military Intelligence
(M.I.) nominated by its Director General.
3.The Heads of the aforesaid departments/ institutions
shall recommend the names of their nominees for the JIT within
seven days from today which shall be placed before us in
chambers for nomination and approval. The JIT shall investigate the
case and collect evidence, if any, showing that respondent No. 1 or
any of his dependents or benamidars owns, possesses or has
acqu
ired assets or any interest therein disproportionate to his known
means of income. Respondents No. 1, 7 and 8 are directed to
appear and associate themselves with the JIT as and when
required. The JIT may also examine the evidence and material,
any nexus with the possession or acquisition of the aforesaid flats or
any other assets or pecuniary resources and their origin. The JIT shall
submit its periodical reports every two weeks before a
Bench of this
Court constituted in this behalf. The JIT shall complete the
investigation and submit its final report before the said Bench within
a period of sixty days from the date of its constitution. The Bench
thereupon may pass appropriate orders in e
xercise of its powers
under Articles 184(3), 187(2) and 190 of the Constitution including an
order for filing a reference against respondent No. 1 and any other
person having nexus with the crime if justified on the basis of the
material thus brought on th
e record before it.
4.It is further held that upon receipt of the reports,
periodic or final of the JIT, as the case may be, the matter of
disqualification of respondent No. 1 shall be considered. If found
necessary for passing an appropriate order in
this behalf,
respondent No. 1 or any other person may be summoned and
examined.
5.We would request the Hon’ble Chief Justice to
constitute a Special Bench to ensure implementation of this
judgment so that the investigation into the allegations may not
be
left in a blind alley.
JUDGE
JUDGE
JUDGE
JUDGE
JUDGE
Announced on
_____________
at _______________________.
JUDGE
