SC accepts Sharifs plea for larger bench

Islamabad, Sept 12: Pakistan’s Supreme Court said on Tuesday that a five-judge bench will be formed to hear the review petitions of former Prime Minister waz Sharif, his children, son-in-law and Fince Minister Ishaq Dar against the July 28 Pama Papers case verdict. A three-member bench headed by Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan after hearing the arguments of Salman Akram Raja, counsel for waz Sharif’s children, and Khawaja Haris, counsel for Sharif, sent the matter to the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Saqib Nisar. Raja said the plea for the formation of a five-judge bench was filed because the last decision (July 28) was passed by a five-judge bench, Geo News reported. Sharif’s daughter Maryam, sons Hussain and Hassan, and son-in-law Muhammad Safdar, moved an application in the apex court on Monday urging that their review pleas be heard by a five-member bench, instead of the three-member bench, and that the hearing be delayed till the formation of the five-member bench. The children of the former Premier reminded the court that they had filed two separate review petitions — one against the decision of the five-member Pama case bench and the other against the decision of the three-member implementation bench, and thus the application against the decision of the five-member bench should be heard first, the report said.  (IANS)