(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Ousted Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif yesterday challenged before the Supreme Court the order of its registrar who had returned his petition seeking a declaration that the apex court's direction to National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in the July 28 Panama Papers judgement for filing multiple corruption references against him was contrary to the law and facts.
'It is respectfully prayed that this honourable court may be pleased to set aside the impugned order dated Oct 20, 2017 passed by Assistant Registrar and direct the office to assign a number to the petition and fix it for hearing before a bench of the court, argued the appeal which was filed by Sharif's counsel Khawaja Haris Ahmed.
While returning the petition along with the paper books for not being entertainable, the registrar office had taken the grounds that Sharif had already exhausted all legal remedies up to the Supreme Court and that the petitioner had not approached any other appropriate forum available to him under the law for the same relief.
Moreover, the petitioner had also not provided any justification for not doing so, the court office said, adding the certificate provided along with the petition did not fulfil the requirements of the Supreme Court rules.
In his petition which was filed on October 13, Sharif had pleaded before the Supreme Court to declare its July 28 verdict, to the extent that it directs filing of three references against the petitioner, is per incuriam, being repugnant to the provisions of Article 4, 9, 10A, 13 and 25 of the Constitution.
Sharif and members of his family are facing three corruption references before the Accountability Court No. 1, Islamabad which is expected to indict the former premier on these references on Oct 25.
On Sept 15, a five-judge Supreme Court bench headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa had rejected Sharif's petition seeking a review of the July 28 verdict which had disqualified him.
The detailed judgement on the review petition is still awaited.
The new petition under Article 184(3) of the constitution has named the federal government through the law ministry, NAB and the accountability court, as respondents in the petition.
The fresh petition also requested the Supreme Court to suspend the proceedings before the accountability court in the three references namely 18, 19 and 20 by holding these were repugnant to the provision of National Accountability Ordinance (NAO), 1999, and the constitution till the filing of a consolidated reference by NAB in respect of the alleged commission of offence under Section 9(a)(v) of NAO.
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