CJP asks Tareen's counsel to inform how property is purchased abroad

ISLAMABAD: A three-member bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, resumed on Tuesday hearing of the petition filed by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Hanif Abbasi seeking the disqualification of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Jahangir Tareen for non-disclosure of his assets and ownership of offshore companies.

As the hearing began, Tareen's counsel Sikandar Mohmand said Tareen deposited funds in a trust from money earned from Pakistan. 

When asked by the bench to help it understand the process of purchasing property abroad, Mohmand responded that the first step is to form a trust after which a company is formed under the trust to purchase the property. 

During the proceedings, the chief justice also remarked that "things don’t remain the same in Pakistan. Things may change tomorrow from how they are today". 

Moreover, during the hearing, Mohmand informed the bench that a plot worth over two million pounds was bought through the offshore company, which was registered on April 27, 2011. He added that the plot was then mortgaged to construct the house. 

Tareen's counsel also argued that the trust deed is a secret and cannot be shared to which the court responded that the counsel had said initially that he will share all the details of the case. 

The bench observed that the court has to be satisfied that Tareen has no control of the London property.

The hearing was then adjourned until tomorrow when Mohmand said he will furnish further details regarding the amount remitted outside the country by Tareen to satisfy the court's query. 

Other members of the bench include Justice Faisal Arab and Justice Umar Ata Bandiyal. 

At an earlier hearing of the case, the bench had observed that Tareen had failed to disclose in his election forms the possession of 18,566 acres of agriculture land obtained on lease.