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Dawn
Islamabad
The FOCUS of the Panamagate hearing on Wednesday returned to a piece of agricultural land which Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif allegedly bought in the name of his daughter, Maryam Nawaz, in 2011. The court also inquired after large sums of money that were given as gifts by the premier's son Hussain Nawaz to his father.
"We want to know the source of the amount, where such a big amount is coming from," Justice Ijazul Hassan posed a question to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's lawyer Makhdoom Ali Khan as a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa resumed hearing the case.
The judge was referring to an amount of Rs510 million that, he said, Hussain Nawaz, gave his father over a period of four years. According to Justice Ijazul Hassan, the move signalled that a significant amount of money had been circulating.
Makdhoom Khan told the court that an amount of Rs210 million was sent by Hussain Nawaz in 2012 and another Rs129.8 million was given by him in the same year.
"It could be that this is black money. The son (Hussain Nawaz) sent the amount to the father (Nawaz Sharif) and the father bought the land in his daughter's (Maryam Nawaz's) name." Justice Khosa observed.
The judge was referring to agricultural land spread over 5.38 acres in Mansehra district, which is worth Rs243 million. The land was declared under Maryam Nawaz's name by the prime minister in his 2011-12 income tax returns.
"This property was not 'benami', was it?" asked Justice Gulzar Ahmed, referring to the agricultural land.
"Why did Hussain Nawaz only give gifts to his father?" Justice Ijazul Hassan asked.
Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed reiterated the bench's desire to see the records of transactions."We are not speaking in Persian," he said."Present the records," he told the PM's counsel.
Maryam Nawaz's dependence status was brought into focus once again as Makdhoom Khan maintained that her name was listed as the PM's dependent on tax forms because there was no other column on the sheet."The purpose of writing her name on the form was not to declare her a dependent," the lawyer argued.
Khan was reflecting on accusations made during the Panamagate case that Maryam Nawaz is a dependent of her father."It was alleged that Maryam Nawaz was declared a dependent in the nomination papers. The prime minister does not accept these accusations," Khan said.
"The premier had said that in his household it is only him and his wife and he has no dependants," he added.
Justice Gulzar observed that the tax forms had been edited in 2015 and inquired:"When did the Panama matter emerge?"
"Panama came forward in 2016. Before this, the tax forms have been edited," the prime minister's lawyer responded.
Makhdoom Khan told the court that accusations of tax evasion made against the prime minister are incorrect.
He said that amounts of money had been given as gifts by the premier to his daughter through banks.
"A full record of all bank transactions is available," the lawyer said."The petitioners have also accepted that the gifts were given through banks."
The senior counsel told the court that in his arguments, Advocate Shahid Hamid who is representing Maryam Nawaz in the Panamagate case will also reflect on the matter of his client's dependency.
During the hearing, the court also put forth an inquiry regarding the Azizia Steel Mills in Jeddah. The focus remained on how money received from the sale of the mills was transferred to Pakistan.
The counsel told the court that the amount was sent by Hussain Nawaz from Saudi Arabia in 2010. The counsel also said that details of the prime minister's son's business will be provided by his lawyer.
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19/01/2017
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