CJP rejects Sharif's in-chamber appeal to merge three corruption references into one

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Saqib Nisar on Thursday rejected former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s in-chamber appeal to club three references against him into one, ARY News reported.

The CJP maintained the objections raised by the registrar office while dismissing Sharif’s plea.

The option to review the Panama Papers judgment had already been availed by the former premier, he remarked.

Earlier on Oct 13, Sharif’s petition was rejected by the apex court’s registrar directing the petitioner to consult the relevant forum in this regards.

The petition was filed through ex-PM Sharif’s legal team, stating that filling multiple references on a single allegation, possessing assets beyond known sources of income, is the sheer breach of Section 9 (a) (5) of the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO).

The petition pleaded for suspension of the accountability court proceedings until the other three references were incorporated within a single corruption reference.

It asserted that holding several trials on a single allegation is violation of the defendant’s fundamental rights.

It merits to highlight that former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was ousted by the Supreme Court in its landmark July 28 verdict in the Panama Papers case.

Last day, Nawaz Sharif complained about dual standards of justice in the country following the court proceedings in three graft references.

Continuing with his criticism of the judiciary in the wake of his disqualification at the hands of the Supreme Court, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif once again took aim at courts, accusing them of double-standards. He said PTI chief Imran Khan was granted bail in four cases registered against him during 2014 sit-in but the top court rejecting his review petitions.