PM to appear before JIT on 15th

ISLAMABAD – Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will appear before the Joint Investigation Team (JIT), probing his family’s assets on the direction of the apex court, on June 15.

Sources in the government confirmed receiving summons from the JIT at the Prime Minister’s House on Saturday, when the prime minister was in Astana to attend the SCO summit meeting.

Nawaz Sharif is required to appear before the investigators on Thursday at 11:30am in connection with the Panama leaks investigations, wherein his family faces allegations of money laundering and accumulating assets through illegal means.

Information Minister for State Marriyum Aurangzeb also confirmed receiving of the summons and said the prime minister will appear before the investigation team at Federal Judicial Academy.

PM’s sons, Hussain Nawaz and Hassan Nawaz, have already appeared before the JIT a number of times.

Legal experts said that it would perhaps be the first time in the country’s history that a sitting prime minister would be appearing before an investigation team probing allegation of financial irregularities.

Party sources said Nawaz Sharif will appear in his personal capacity and not as the Chief Executive of the country.

Meanwhile, a high-level consultative meeting was held under the chair of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at his Raiwind residence after he landed in Lahore for spending weekend with his family, having attended the SCO Summit in Kazakhstan.

Sources in the ruling PML-N informed The Nation that the prime minister was given detailed briefing on the JIT proceedings, and the matter his elder son had raised on his photo leak.

The concerns shown by National Bank of Pakistan President Saeed Ahmad and the cousin of Premier Sharif Mian Tariq Shafi about the JIT also came under review, and it was decided letting the apex court decide on their concerns.

Saeed Ahmad had written a letter to the registrar of Supreme Court of Pakistan expressing his serious concerns over the way he was treated by the JIT.

The legal team briefed the premier on the proceedings of the JIT and drew the course of action for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif when he would appear before the probe team on Thursday.

It was decided in the meeting that Prime Minister Nawaz would himself appear before the JIT, instead of going for other options such as seeking questionnaire from the JIT.

Legal and constitutional experts said that the prime minister could be asked about the money trail as well as the stark contradictions in his two speeches to the nation and one on the floor of the National Assembly, wherein he had claimed to have each and every detail about the assets of his family.

Similarly, as the JIT had also sought the record of Hudaibiya Paper Mills, he may be quizzed about the financial transactions of the mills and how its accounts were used in transferring of the funds abroad.

Sources in the party informed The Nation that by appearing before the JIT the prime minister would once more prove that he has all the respect for the law of the land and the superior judiciary, and that he would appear before the JIT in his personal capacity and not as chief executive of the country.

Sources in the party further informed The Nation that in addition to seeking advice from his legal team, the prime minister also had discussion with his political aides to discuss the pros and cons of his appearance before the JIT and continuing cooperation with apex court-formed probe team – despite serious reservations shown on the conduct and demeanour of the JIT by his sons and some other persons deposed before it.

Sources said that the JIT would also be summoning Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, who had turned approver in Hudaibiya Paper Mills case against the Sharif family.

However, the case was reopened and all the charges against Ishaq Dar and Sharif family were dismissed by the Lahore High Court (LHC) when Nawaz Sharif returned from exile.

So far, the elder son of Premier Sharif, Hussain Nawaz has appeared five times before the JIT, while his younger son Hassan Nawaz has appeared twice.

Interestingly, in the face of charges of maltreatment and adopting of coercive tactics against those appearing before the JIT the head of the probing body FIA Additional Director Wajid Rasool had also approached the apex court’s implementation bench complaining about the hurdles being created in the smooth functioning of the JIT.

The six-member JIT headed by Additional Director FIA Wajid Rasool comprises Amir Aziz from State Bank of Pakistan, Bilal Rasool from the SECP, Irfan Naeem Mangi from the NAB, Brigadier Nauman Saeed from the ISI and Brigadier Kamaran Khursheed from the MI.

Source: The Nation