Imran Khan will accept any verdict given by new SC bench on Panamagate

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan has said he would accept the verdict given by the new five-judge larger bench on the Panamagate case, constituted by the newly elected Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar.

"We were confronted with the electoral rigging in 2014 and Panama Papers leaks in 2016 and we can only hope 2017 would not be the same. We welcome the formation of a new bench to hear the case and will accept its decision," the Express Tribune quoted him as saying in a press conference in Karachi on Saturday.

Imran added that he hoped the Panama leaks matter "will be done" in January.

The PTI leader went on to say that he was disappointed with former chief justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali as the latter could have avoided the delay in the hearing but he instead proceeded on vacations.

The five-judge bench, headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, will hear the high-profile case on January 4 which includes Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan, Justice Gulzar Ahmad, Justice Azmat Saeed Sheikh and Justice Ijaz ul Ahsan.

The top court in November took up a slew of petitions seeking Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's disqualification in the wake of Panama Papers, which in April revealed that the PM's family members had stashed money in offshore companies.

The outgoing chief justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali, who was also heading the bench and conducted 10 hearings of the case, adjourned the case till first week of January. With his retirement the old bench was dissolved.