ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court would announce the historic judgment of Panamagate on Thursday (today).
A five-member larger bench headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa and comprised of Justice Gulzar Ahmed, Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed, and Justice Ejazul Ahsan would announce the judgment at 2pm.
On the occasion, security will remain tight inside and outside the court. People would be allowed to enter the court room with special security entry passes.
There would be a ban on the entry of political workers on the premises of the court while PTI Chairman Imran Khan, Awami Muslim League President Sheikh Rashid Ahmed and Jamaat-e-Islami chief Sirajul Haq would be provided special security.
Each party would be issued 15 entry passes.
Over 500 police personnel and additional contingent of Rangers would be deployed outside the court. Almost 6 to 8 police personnel would be deployed for the security of every political leader. Only entry pass holders would be allowed to enter the courtroom.
To stop the entry of political workers additional force would be deployed at check posts in Red Zone while stern action would be taken against sloganeers on the court premises.
The bench had reserved its verdict on February 23. The five judges on the bench have given their individual input in writing, keeping in view the significance of the case.
“Normally, one judge writes [a] judgment and his fellows endorse it. Here, every member of the larger bench is writing his own note,” a source told a local newspaper. To keep things airtight, one of the judges is said to have penned down the judgment on his personal laptop.
On April 11, Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan, a member of the larger bench, observed that the Panamagate verdict would not just concern the Sharifs, but it would, in fact, set in motion a law which would last for centuries.
The ruling was delayed by more than a month – at first because all the judges were in different registries of the court and then because all of them were giving their individual input in writing due to the importance of the case.
Despite the weeks-long wait, everyone in Pakistan has been on the edge of their seats, with politicians especially anxious as their future course of action depends on the outcome of the judgment.