The Express Tribune reported that Justice Isa submitted an application in the Supreme Court on Tuesday, saying that according to the claim of Assets Recovery Unit (ARU) chairman Mirza Shahzad Akbar, properties in the UK could be searched by anyone using the search engine 192.com. The application said the search engine was used to find out the properties of a few known public figures. The search result suggested that Shahzad Akbar himself owned five properties in the UK, PM Imran owned six, Zulfikar Bukhari seven, Usman Dar three, Jehangir Tareen one, Firdous Ashiq Awan one, and former president retired Gen Pervez Musharraf have two to his name.
“The petitioner does not say nor suggests, let alone allege, that the abovementioned gentlemen and lady are those public figures who are well-known in Pakistan. Assuming they are, the petitioner still does not allege that they illegally acquired any property in the UK in violation of the income tax, the foreign exchange and/or money laundering laws,” the application noted.
The judge clarified that through this statement he was “not saying or suggesting, let alone allege” that the people he had identified had illegally acquired any property in the UK in violation of the income tax, the foreign exchange and/or money laundering laws. However, the application noted that before making an allegation with regard to the illegal transfer of money abroad, the State Bank of Pakistan must check to determine whether the aforementioned individuals had foreign exchange accounts and whether through their accounts money was remitted abroad or not.
The application pleaded before the Supreme Court to consider and declare that the ARU was illegal and working without any legal effect and any of the actions taken by the unit with regard to the reference against the petitioner judge and his family was illegal and of no legal effect.