Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Questions are being raised over competency and political affiliation of Justice (r) Sarmad Jalal Usmani before his appointment as head of inquiry commission announced to probe the Panama leaks scandal.

Talking to Daily Times on Saturday, PPP Senator Saeed Ghani said following the imposition of November 3, 2007, emergency, Justice (r) Sarmad Jalal Usmani was among those judges who didn’t take oath. On his return from exile in Saudi Arabia, Nawaz Sharif visited the home of Justice (r) Sarmad Jalal Usmani in Karachi, where Sharmeen advocate, wife of Justice (r) Usmani, announced to join the PML-N. In the backdrop of this situation, if Justice (r) Usmani becomes head of the commission, impartiality of this body will be called into question.

Election Commission of Pakistan former secretary Kanwar Dilshad told Daily Times Justice (r) Usmani as judge of the Supreme Court spent most of his tenure as member of the benches which were headed by former chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry. The political leadership will now have to see that Justice (r) Usmani’s affiliation with former chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry may not sabotage the investigation process.

Dilshad said it has reportedly been made part of the terms of reference sent by the federal government to Justice (r) Usmani that the commission will scrutinize assets of all overseas Pakistanis besides those of Hassan Nawaz and Hussain Nawaz. It appears that the inquiry commission may not complete its investigation within the stipulated timeframe of three months and the matter will linger on, enabling Nawaz Sharif to get close to completing his constitutional term, he said.

Justice (r) Usmani has demanded that he should be authorised to appoint a chartered accountant of his own chance, giving rise to apprehension that government will secure decision of its own choice through appointment of a ‘friendly’ chartered accountant since Finance Minister Ishaq Dar is the ‘patron-in-chief’ of all chartered accounts firms. Given their 35-year track record of cheat and deceit, no honourable retired judge of Supreme Court (SC) is willing to bail Sharif family out of Panama leaks quandary.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, his sons and daughter are facing the charges of siphoning off money to foreign accounts and owning offshore companies. Nawaz Sharif was in pursuit of a ‘friendly’ judge to steer his family out of the quagmire of allegations. Nawaz is the only prime minister of Pakistan who was restored to his office by former chief justice Naseem Hassan Shah through ‘inexpensive’ and ‘speedy justice’.

Benazir Bhutto had termed this decision as ‘by-product’ of ‘chamak’. During the previous tenure of Nawaz Sharif as premier, services of Justice (r) Malik Abdul Qayyum were hired to award punishment of choice to Benazir Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari.

Later tapes of former senator Saif ur Rehman and former law minister Khalid Anwar were presented in the top court. These two government functionaries were heard giving clear directives to Justice (r) Malik Qayyum and Justice (r) Arshad Aziz that maximum punishment be awarded to Benazir Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari. During the second tenure of Sharif, Rehman said on the record, “There is no court in the country, which can give a decision against our will.” These ‘historical words’ are preserved in the book authored by senior lawyer SM Zafar.

When General (r) Pervez Musharraf came to power in 1999, first lady Kalsoom Nawaz said, “There is no judge in the country who can dispense us justice.” By the end of 1997, then chief justice Syed Sajjad Ali Shah made Sharif a picture of helplessness and the then justice Rafiq Tarar formed a forward bloc of judges through Justice Irshad Hassan Khan and the Sharif family emerged victorious once again.

The relations between Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and the Sharif family are no more a secret. The PML-N did politics hiding behind Chaudhry during the entire tenure of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) from 2008 to 2013.

The Sharif family once again needed a certificate of innocence from the judiciary and it was in search of a retired judge for this purpose.