Daily Times

The Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) on Monday filed a petition before the Supreme Court seeking investigation against the individuals named in Pandora Papers.

The petition filed by JI chief Sirajul Haq was drawn by Advocate Ishtiaq Ahmed Raja and filed through Advocate-on-Record (AOR) Rifaqat Hussain Shah.

The petition prayed the court that “by allowing this petition, the names of the persons involved in the transfer of public money, as mentioned in Pandora Papers may also be allowed to be brought on the file for the purpose of inquiry/investigation”. “Since a similar petition is also pending before this Honorable Court, therefore, the petitioner seeks the indulgence of this Honorable Court for a direction to the respondents for the purpose of inquiry/investigation,” the petition prayed.

It stated that the publishing of Pandora Papers was a continuation of the Panama Leaks published in 2016. Both the leaks involved the transfer of public funds and the establishment of offshore companies with that money, it added. The petition further read, “The process of investigation in the matter is to be taken by the respondents, yet neither the names of those persons already announced by the Pandora Papers are being acknowledged by the respondents nor any action is proposed by the respondents against the said persons.”

Talking to media after filing of petition, Siraj said that he had filed a similar petition when the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) disclosed the establishment of offshore companies registered in Panama, whereby illegal public money was transferred from different countries. He said that the ICIJ was still investigating the matter of illegal transfer of funds through the said established companies, the consortium published yet another list of individuals involved in transferring public money.