Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif
It all began in April 2016 with a huge leak of 11.5 million documents from the database of a Panama-based law firm, Mossack Fonseca, exposing politicians, celebrities, businessmen and criminals who had set up offshore companies.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his family came under fire at home with opposition parties accusing them of widespread corruption, after names of PM’s children cropped up in the leaked documents from the Panamian law firm.
April 13, 2016, Five ex-SC judges refuse to lead inquiry
Still in its infancy, 'panamagate' begins to ingress into the judicial sphere, albeit turbulently. Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan reveals that the ex-Supreme Court judges contacted by the government to head the inquiry commission have turned down the offer.
May 10: COAS Raheel Sharif asks the PM to resolve Panama issue
On May 16, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif asked Parliament to form a commission to investigate allegations stemming from the Panama Papers leak.
June 24: PTI, PPP seek PM’s disqualification through ECP. PTI filed a petition in the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) seeking the disqualification of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif as a member of National Assembly.
The PTI marched on Raiwind in 26th September to further mount pressure on PM Sharif to present himself for accountability, followed by an attempt to lock down Islamabad and a subsequent crackdown by the government.
On October 20, 2016, the Supreme Court took up petitions by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Jamaat-e-Islami, Jamhoori Watan Party and others for hearing, in an open court, beginning the long-drawn proceedings of the case in the apex court.
November 7: PML-N files Qatari letter in the Supreme Court
The letter states that Hamad’s father — Jassim bin Jabr Al Thani — had “longstanding business relations with Mian Mohammad Sharif” — Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s father — “which were coordinated through my eldest brother”. In the year 1980, “Mian Sharif expressed his desire to invest a certain amount of money in real estate business of Al Thani family in Qatar,” the document said.
“I understood at that time, that an aggregate sum of around Dirhams 12 million was contributed by Mian Sharif, originating from the sale of business in Dubai,” the document said, adding that four flats: 16, 16A, 17 and 17A Avenfield House, Park Lane, London, were registered under the ownership of two offshore companies, while their bearer share certificates were kept in Qatar. “These were purchased from the proceeds of the real estate business,” the document claimed.
November 14: PTI submitted evidence relating to the Panama Papers case against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in SC.
The documents purportedly demonstrated how the Sharif family allegedly laundered their money and purchased property in 1998.
The evidence includes an April 10, 2000 Guardian article titled ‘Sharif set for grilling on wealth’ as well as an April 5, 2016 article, headlined ‘Pakistani PM’s children raised £7m against UK flats owned offshore’;
The Supreme Court of Pakistan will announce its verdict in Panamagate case on April 20, Thursday, at 2:00pm, confirmed the supplementary cause list released by the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
Panama Case Verdict Announced: Court orders formation of JIT to investigate PM Nawaz Sharif