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- A timeline of cases against Nawaz and their conclusion to give a perspective on his return on October 21, 2023
By Zainul Islam
The writer is a media critic working with DawnNews, Islamabad.
A timeline of cases related to the Panama scandal has been set against the Sharif family. I am sharing here the salient points of the material that came out after three days of research. It is surprising that we do not have a single comprehensive newspaper report on such an important topic in the history of politics and court. Of course, TV anchors taking millions a month should have the responsibility to write and produce content on such big topics, but half of them boarded Imran Khan’s helicopter and now the other half has boarded Nawaz Sharif’s plane. So, it is the job of reporters and editors like us fetching meager salary amounting to a few thousand rupees to tell people what were the nature and punishments of the cases in which bails were granted.
The starting point:
Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is returning to Pakistan after almost three years and 11 months.
Nawaz Sharif’s political downfall, who became prime minister for the third time in 2013, began when in 2016, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) exposed the properties and illegal financial activities of many of the world’s leading politicians, businessmen and global elites.
The country’s political and judicial history took a new turn when the name of Nawaz Sharif and his family came up in this scandal. Here is a timeline of which courts, when and how Nawaz Sharif and his family were tried after the Panama Leaks.
April 4, 2016: The Panama Leaks revealed Nawaz Sharif’s offshore companies.
The opposition demanded the resignation of Nawaz Sharif from the prime minister’s post.
The formation of a parliamentary committee to investigate the Panama scandal was echoed. So sometimes there was a voice for the formation of an inquiry commission.
However, strong rival PTI Chairman Imran Khan took to the streets demanding a judicial inquiry. There was a vigorous mass movement, which also faced accusations of being supported by the then military establishment.
October 14, 2016: Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali appointed five petitions filed to investigate the Panama Leaks and formed a three-member bench.
October 27: Supreme Court constituted a five-member bench to hear the petitions.
Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar has constituted a new five-member bench on the retirement of Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali.
April 20, 2017: A five-member bench concluded the hearing and delivered the verdict in the Panama case.
In a three-two majority verdict, the court ordered the formation of a JIT to investigate the Panama scandal.
May 3: A three-member implementation bench was formed on May 3 to implement the court’s order.
May 6: The implementation bench constituted a six-member Panama JIT on May 6.
The JIT submitted its final report to the Supreme Court.
July 21: A three-member implementation bench completed the hearing and reserved the verdict.
July 28, 2017: A five-member bench of the Supreme Court disqualified Nawaz Sharif under Article 62(1F) of the Constitution.
On the same day, the Election Commission disqualified Nawaz Sharif from the National Assembly constituency 120.
It is surprising that we do not have a single comprehensive newspaper report on such an important topic in the history of politics and court. Of course, TV anchors taking millions a month should have the responsibility to write and produce content on such big topics, but half of them boarded Imran Khan’s helicopter and now the other half has boarded Nawaz Sharif’s plane
The court ordered to file corruption references against Nawaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz, Hussain Nawaz, Hassan Nawaz, Ishaq Dar and Muhammad Safdar in six weeks.
After the reference was filed, the accountability court was given six months to decide.
Justice Ijazul Ahsan of the Supreme Court was entrusted with the responsibility of supervising all the cases.
September 8, 2017: NAB filed the Al-Azizia Steel Mills reference against the Sharif family in an accountability court in Islamabad. Avenfield Apartments Reference and Flagship Investment Reference filed. A reference was filed against Ishaq Dar for assets beyond income.
July 6, 2018: Accountability Court Judge Muhammad Bashir pronounced the verdict in the Avenfield reference on July 6, 2018. Nawaz Sharif was sentenced to 10 years in jail, Maryam Nawaz seven years in prison and a fine of two million pounds while Muhammad Safdar was sentenced to one year in prison.
July 13: Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz, who were in London, reached Lahore on July 13, where they were arrested and shifted to jail.
July 25, 2018: General elections were held in the country on July 25, 2018, in which the PTI won and formed the government.
The Sharif family filed appeals in the Islamabad High Court against the accountability court’s decision.
September 19, 2018: Islamabad High Court decided on the appeals. The sentences of Nawaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz and Muhammad Safdar were suspended till the final judgement in the cases.
Nawaz Sharif, his daughter and son-in-law were then released from Adiala Jail Rawalpindi.
December 24, 2018: An accountability court pronounced the verdicts in the Flagship and Al-Azizia references.
Judge Arshad Malik acquitted Nawaz Sharif from the Flagship reference.
However, Nawaz Sharif was sentenced to seven years in jail in the Al-Azizia reference. Nawaz was also fined 1.5 billion rupees and 25 million dollars respectively.
At that time, Nawaz Sharif was arrested from the courtroom and shifted to Adiala Jail Rawalpindi and later to Kot Lakhpat Jail Lahore.
February 2, 2019: Nawaz Sharif was shifted from jail to Services Hospital Lahore on medical grounds.
Nawaz Sharif was sometimes in jail and sometimes in the hospital.
October 11, 2019: NAB arrested Nawaz Sharif in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills money laundering case.
Maryam Nawaz was arrested in the same case on August 8, 2019.
Nawaz Sharif approached the Islamabad and Lahore High Courts for bail on medical grounds.
October 25, 2019: Lahore High Court granted bail to Nawaz Sharif on medical grounds in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case.
The next week, on October 29, 2019, the Islamabad High Court granted six-week bail to Nawaz Sharif in the Al-Azizia case on medical grounds.
November 4, 2019: Lahore High Court granted bail to Maryam Nawaz in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case.
November 12, 2019: The federal cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan approved the removal of Nawaz Sharif’s name from the ECL.
November 16: Lahore High Court allowed Nawaz Sharif to go abroad for treatment.
Nawaz Sharif left Lahore for London on November 19, 2019 after his bail was granted on medical grounds and his name was removed from the ECL.
Nawaz Sharif, who was lodged in Kot Lakhpat jail, was sent to London by air ambulance.
October 21, 2023: Nawaz Sharif has now announced to return to Pakistan after about three years and 11 months as his lawyers have secured his bail from the Islamabad High Court in the Avenfield and Al-Azizia references. Nawaz Sharif has also been granted bail in the Toshakhana case.
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