Panama Case Verdict: No clean chit for PM Nawaz Sharif
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Justice Asif Saeed Khosa began announcing the final verdict in the case against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his family at Courtroom 1 today at the apex court to an audience of over 400 people, according to TV reports. Justice Ejaz Afzal authored the 540-page verdict.
The final verdict is split 3-2 among the bench, DawnNews reported, with two dissenting notes in the judgement by Justice Khosa and Justice Gulzar.
The two judges ruled against PM Nawaz Sharif, whereas the other three were in favour of forming a JIT.
All five judges, however, raised questions regarding the money trail for the Sharif family's Gulf steel mill and ordered the JIT to investigate the letter from a Qatari royal ─ dismissed today by the bench ─ which was submitted by Sharif's lawyer as evidence in the case.
Justice Khosa asserted that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had been unsuccessful in playing their role effectively.
The JIT is to include officials NAB, FIA, State Bank of Pakistan, Inter-Services Intelligence, Military Intelligence, the bench said, and will be led by a director-general level FIA officer.
The names of members of the JIT must be announced within seven days, and a probe report must be released within 60 days. The JIT must report its progress to the court on a weekly basis.