PTI to wait for SC verdict on Panama before pressurising Sharif to resign

Islamabad, Jul 18: As the Supreme Court is set to pronounce its verdict in the Panama Papers, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) on Tuesday said it will wait for the court`s decision before calling on the people to take to the streets and force Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to resign from his post.On the other hand, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has warned Sharif that he will be coerced to leave histhis post if he does not resign on his own, reported the Dawn.

"Our party will wait for the Supreme Court`s decision," PTI spokesman Fawad Chaudhry said.Chaudhry said the decision to wait has been made by the party, adding that the party will not organise big rallies or public meetings till the court announces its decision, but will hold small party conventions at various places."We do not want to give an impression that we have taken out people on the street before the apex court`s verdict, but we want to keep our workers charged so that they remain ready for any call by the chairman," he said.

Earlier on Monday, a Justice of Pakistan Supreme Court, who is heading the three-judge implementation bench hearing the Panama Papers case, said that the Joint Investigation Team`s (JIT) findings against Sharif`s family are not obligatory on the apex court."The JIT`s findings against Sharif family are not binding on the Supreme Court," the Express Tribune quoted Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan as saying during the hearing.The apex court questioned whether Sharif received monthly salary from FZE, an offshore company, as revealed in the JIT report.

According to the report, Justice Sheikh observed that the JIT obtained documents related to FZE through Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) from United Arab Emirates under the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) law as those were certified and not source documents.Meanwhile, Justice Ejaz observed that it was debatable whether the documents could be accepted without questioning the people who signed them.The top court is likely to either put Sharif on trial on corruption charges or even disqualify him.However, the few are expecting the judges to dismiss the case after the JIT submitted a damaging report into Sharif`s family wealth.

Earlier, Sharif`s lawyers and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, submitted separate objections to the JIT report in the apex court today.A three-member apex bench, headed by Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan, and comprising Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed and Justice Ijazul Hassan, after the JIT began hearing the case as the JIT submitted its final report on July 10.The report pointed out a categorical foul play on part of the Prime Minister, his children and other family members in their wealth details linked to offshore companies unearthed in Panama Papers.

The report also found respondents guilty of being beneficial owners of multiple offshore companies and recommended initiation of reference against Sharif and his family members in the National Accountability Bureau.In the objections filed before the court, the Sharif family and the Finance Minister rejected the JIT report and argued that the team violated its mandate, reports the Dawn.

Meanwhile, PTI lead counsel Naeem Bukhari in his arguments highlighted certain findings from the JIT report, including the alleged false testimony of Tariq Shafi, who is Sharif`s cousin and a key respondent in the case.Shafi recorded a false testimony earlier regarding an agreement that he made in 1980 with Abdullah Kayed Ahli, the owner of Ahli Steel Company, Dubai in which Shafi held 25 per cent shares, said Bukhari.

The trust deed of the four flats located in London`s upscale Park Lane neighbourhood, executed between Maryam Nawaz and Hussain Nawaz - the Prime Minister`s children - in February 2006, was found to be false by the JIT, Bukhari told the apex bench.The counsel representing Sharif`s sons in the case, Salman Akram Raja, had argued before the SC in February that bearer certificates of the flats had remained with Maryam between February and July 2006. However, they were cancelled upon execution of the trust deed and registered under Minerva Services Limited - an entity that appointed directors for the two offshore companies, Nielson Enterprises Ltd and Nescoll Ltd. that owned the four flats.

The court is expected to either put Sharif on trial on corruption charges, or even disqualify him, but few expect the judges to dismiss the case.

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Pak jail authorities say Imran Khan is alive and healthy after ‘murder’ rumours spark panic

News Network

November 27,2025

Authorities at Pakistan’s high-security Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi on Wednesday dismissed speculation about the condition of imprisoned former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, rejecting rumours that he had been moved out of the facility or was in danger. Officials said Khan was in “good health” and described the viral death claims as “baseless.”

“There is no truth to reports about his transfer from Adiala Jail,” the Rawalpindi prison administration said in a statement, according to Geo News. “He is fully healthy and receiving complete medical attention.”

Amid swirling rumours on social media, Imran Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), urged the federal government to issue an official clarification and demanded that authorities allow his family to meet him immediately, Dawn reported.

The frenzy began after Khan’s three sisters called for an impartial probe into what they described as a “brutal” police assault on them and other PTI supporters outside Adiala Jail last week. Soon after, several social media handles circulated unverified claims alleging that Khan had been “killed” inside the prison.

The rumours intensified when a handle named “Afghanistan Times” claimed that “credible sources” had confirmed Khan’s “murder” and that his body had been moved out of the jail — allegations that have not been verified by any credible agency.

Imran Khan, PTI’s patron-in-chief, has been lodged in the Rawalpindi prison since August 2023 in multiple cases. For over a month, an undeclared restriction has prevented family members and senior PTI leaders from meeting him. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has reportedly been denied access despite making seven attempts.

In a letter to Punjab Police Chief Usman Anwar, Khan’s sisters — Noreen Niazi, Aleema Khan, and Dr. Uzma Khan — said they were “peacefully protesting” outside the jail when police allegedly launched an unprovoked assault after streetlights were switched off.

“At 71, I was seized by my hair, thrown to the ground and dragged across the road,” Noreen Niazi said, alleging that other women present were also slapped and manhandled.

Adiala Jail officials reiterated that speculation over Imran Khan’s health was unfounded and insisted that his well-being was being ensured, Geo News reported.

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