Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's children, Maryam Nawaz, Hussain Nawaz and Hassan Nawaz, filed an application for change of counsel in the Panama Papers case on Monday. Former Attorney General for Pakistan Salman Aslam Butt was earlier given the authority to represent the entire Sharif family in the Panama papers adjudication before the apex court; however Butt will continue to appear on behalf of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, his son in law Captain Muhammad Safdar (Retd), Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and Federal Secretary Interior in the case.
An application for change of counsel was filed a day before the hearing of the case fixed before a larger bench of Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali. It was widely assumed that the court would take a final decision on the formation of the commission on Tuesday (today).
Filing civil miscellaneous application, Advocate on Record, Syed Rifaqat Hussain Shah requested the apex court to place senior advocate Muhammad Akram Sheikh on the record for representation of the 'premier's children in the Panama Papers case. Talking to Business Recorder, a number of practising lawyers of the Supreme Court maintained that the change of counsel may be a technical move to seek more time as the new counsel would need time to prepare the case on behalf of his clients.