Pakistan’s Panama Case 2017 : My Observations
By Nilofer Afridi Qazi
Attending the #Panama Case at
the Supreme Court of Pakistan- a case of alleged corruption by Pakistan’s Prime
Minister’s family, was an eye-opening experience. I had never been to a
Pakistani Court hearing before. I
diligently went every morning to attend the daily sessions, until the Justices
thought it was time to deliberate a finding. In total, there were 126 days of
#panama hearings. The whole nation was hooked and waited with bated breath for
the outcome (like a long drawn out cricket match!). This was like a soap opera,
starring the Sharif family and their
massive wealth generated over four decades, with the help of Gulf Arab countries.
Lets say this case is
probably one of Pakistan’s most important judicial cases. As an observer, a
citizen, I think it would be interesting
for some observations to be noted.
First, it was practically
impossible to attend the court sessions if one was not well ‘connected’, in
spite of the fact that the supreme court is a public forum. This case was
‘special. The Panama case attracted
local media reporters and some ‘anchors’ through the 126 days. There was the Pakistan
Muslim League-Nawaz team, members of Parliament, Senate, cabinet and friends
flown in from London. The Pakistan Tehrik Insaf team were led by Imran Khan along
with Jehangir Tarin, who sat next to
him. Shah Mehmud Qureshi, Asad Umar (always sitting at the back); Shirin Mazari
with her loyal companion Munaza Hasan also came regularly. I have to say, Shirin Apa is a force to
reckon with.
Every morning, there was a
battle of getting your name on the ‘List’, to get into the Court, then pass
through three various checking points. We
would line outside Court Room 2 where the door would open at 9am sharp. Shirin
Apa would observe that government officials would send their ‘sitters’ through
an alternative door before 9am to occupy the first come first serve small
courtroom’s prized seats. This was unfair to those who were not allowed to
enter before 9am. This battle of nerves of addressing rule violations was a
daily observation.
Interestingly, there was a
tacit understanding no one sat next to Imran Khan, unless it was Jehangir
Tareen. His party people sat on the same
line as him nearby or behind. The rest of us had to battle for the remaining 60
seats.
The PMLN legal team always
came well before time. Tons of books carried in suticases arrived everyday. All
the lawyers took notes and paid very close attention to every observation. Salman
Akram Raja represented the sons of the Prime Minister; Shahid Hamid ( and his very able daughter
Ayesha Hamid as his assistant) represented the Prime Minister’s daughter Mariam Sharif
Safdar and her husband & The Finance Minister Isaq Dar while Prime Minister
was represented by Makhdum Khan. The defense team was
professional and well prepared. There was no tamasha no hangers on, a few lawyers who
were not officially on the team were seen, eg Faisal Naqvi otherwise it was a
tight team.
In contrast, the plaintiff’s
table was empty: no books and no visible means of note taking. Glaringly
invisible, the lead counsel, Naeem Bukhari, was absent for a large part and
would not come before the court was in session.
One
wondered how Imran Khan chose his legal team. The responses I got reflected
that no one wanted to defend this case because it was thought to be an open
shut case in favour of the sitting government. Secondly, apparently Imran Khan was
not willing to pay for a professional lawyer?
I had
not sat through those sessions in 2016. However, the 2017 Bench: Justice Asif Saeed Khosa who led the bench, Justice Ejaz Afzal, Justice Gulzar
Ahmed, Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed and Justice Ijazul Ahsan made for a very interesting group. Justice
Khosa was a determined judge who wanted a concrete resolution from this
hearing. His wry sense of humour kept one glued to the goings on and focused. I
was pleasantly surprised to see such competence as I had little expectations.
Justice
Azmat Saeed was by far the most loquacious.
He summarized the observations of the Sharifs when they hit upon a snag.
The man is a very bright judge who had
the ability to simplify scenarios in a way that the layman could understand
them too. He has a political mind no doubt.
Justice
Afzal the most ‘Punjabi’ of the bench was more of a listener and observer of
his surroundings. During closure he
surprised EVERYONE by being the most forceful in stating the respondents
‘narrative was unbelievable’ and asked if the Prime Minister was trying to
challenge the intelligence of the court with these tales of spin.
Justice
Gulzar, the ‘Urdu speaking judge’ was the least verbose on the bench. For example, he did not articulate his
thoughts publicly and repeated a few questions that followed the bench’s line
of inquiry.
Justice
Ahsan looked the youngest on the bench. His youthful look belied his knowledge
and style of questioning. Every single
time he spoke, it was clear that he had read every line of the submissions. For
instance, he red marked clear
inconsistencies and ‘clerical errors’.
The
leader of this Bench was clearly Justice Khosa, and his ability to put
questions to both sides with professional authority. His command over the
Bench, the details of the case, the holes in the legal arguments and the
implications on Pakistan’s political legal moral fabric was very evident. He
referred to law and Justice and the court responsibility as guardians of
Pakistan’s constitution and their responsibilities.
I have
to admit witnessing this case was historical. Being there, watching the court dynamics and
interactions was a lesson in law, public relations, and Pakistani culture
altogether.
The
daily hearings had many legal observations and arguments which I tweeted from
@ninoqazi. You can read more on that space about the process and outcome of the
case. Will the flood gates of accountability of the most powerful finally see
the light of day or will it be an open and shut case most dejectedly have
predicted? We shall see and I shall
follow all of it judiciously. I have faith in the five judges is all I’ll say.
