Full court should review Panama verdict, Khawaja Asif urges SC

ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Friday urged the Supreme Court of Pakistan to constitute a full bench to hear the suo-motu notice regarding the announcement of election date and review cases starting from the Panama case in which former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was disqualified, ARY News reported.

In a fiery speech on the floor of the National Assembly, the PML-N leader said that the nine-member SC bench was hearing election date case but the matter is of utmost importance and the full court must consider it.

“I do not want to give the impression that parliamentarians are trespassing in the jurisdiction of the judiciary but I, as a political worker, demand to resolve this complicated situation which is being faced by the country during the last 7-8 months,” he added.

“We have always stood for the independence of the judiciary and we want to run the country in accordance with the law and constitution.”

“ There are some ex-judges like Justice Muneer Hussain and Riaz Sheikh who are criticised but others like Saeed uz Zaman Siddiqui and Nazim Siddiqui are known for their dignity,” he said and appealed to the judiciary to form full bench to review cases starting from Panamagate.

Khawaja Asif also slammed the previous PTI government for backtracking from its agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). He said: “We have inherited an economic crisis and the mess of past four years cannot be cleared in a matter of eight or nine months”.

The defence minister also voiced concern over recent wave of terrorism in the country. Asif described his recent talks with Afghan authorities in Kabul as positive. He also lashed out at Imran Khan for resettlement of TTP in Pakistan.

The Defence Minister also voiced concern over acts of terrorism in the country. He described his recent talks with Afghan authorities in Kabul as positive.

Meanwhile, the National Assembly today passed several bills including Inter Boards Coordination Commission Bill, 2023. The bill was moved by Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training Rana Tanveer Hussain.

Two more bills were also laid before the House today. These include: “The Zakat and Ushr (Amendment) Bill, 2023” and “The Gas Theft Control and Recovery Amendment, Bill, 2023”

The house was then adjourned till Monday at 5pm.