ISLAMABAD: The Sup­reme Court on Thursday questioned why FBR was bypassed in the Panama Papers leaks, wondering whether the liability of taxes was not covered within the purview of tax officers under the Income Tax Ordinance (ITO) 2001.

The remarks by the top court came in a three-page order issued in connection with the June 9 hearing of a plea filed by the Jamaat-i-Islami, seeking proceedings against 436 individuals named in Panama Papers.

Justice Sardar Tariq Masood, who had presided over a two-judge bench, explained that nine questions were put to JI lawyer Muhammad Ishtiaq Ahmed Raja.

He observed that the question of maintainability under Article 184(3) would have been relevant but this issue was decided on Nov 3, 2016, and added that all petitions fixed on that date, including the present case, were maintainable.

The case will now be taken up after a month.

Different queries put to the JI counsel included questions such as: under what circumstances was the JI petition de-linked from other petitions, and what was the motive.

The court also wondered whether the commission sought by the petitioner could be made without issuing notices to those named in the Panama Papers.

Published in Dawn, June 16th, 2023