ISLAMABAD – The Joint Investigation Team (JIT) formed by Supreme Court to probe the business dealings of the Sharif family will present its second inquiry report to the apex court on Tuesday (today).
As per reports, the JIT prepared the 15-day report in the light of documents submitted by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s sons, Hussain Nawaz and Hassan Nawaz, and the report of the two-member investigation team which visited London to probe the case.
First Inquiry Report
On May 22, the JIT presented its first inquiry report to the Panama verdict implementing bench of Supreme Court of Pakistan.
During the hearing, justice Ejaz Afzal instructed the six-member JIT to complete the proceedings when the allotted span of sixty days.
“We will not allow extra time for completion of proceedings,” remarked justice Ejaz Afzal.
Justice Azmat Saeed Sheikh expressed that the JIT should apprise the three-member bench if any state institution was creating hurdles for the team.
Hussain Nawaz
For the first time, Hussain Nawaz appeared before the JIT on Sunday (May 28) at the federal judicial academy and faced a barrage of questions for over two hours.
He made his second appearance on Tuesday (May 30) where he was interrogated for hours. During the hearing, Hussain Nawaz was provided urgent medical care after his blood sugar levels dropped following the hours-long interrogation.
For the third time in five days, Hussain Nawaz reached Federal Judicial Academy on Thursday (June 1) to appear before the probing team.
On June 3, he made his fourth appearance before the investigation team.
Hussain’s Views
Talking to media while leaving the judicial academy after second appearance, Hussain Nawaz said: “I decided to face the JIT and respond to all of their questions. I am confident that the investigation will prove our stance; that we have not done anything illegal.”
On the third appearance, Nawaz said that he will appear before the investigation team whenever he is asked to do so by the JIT.
“We have the same assets as we had during tenure of former president Pervez Musharraf,” Nawaz said, adding that fake cases were registered against them in Musharraf’s tenure.
Hassan Nawaz
PM’s younger son Hassan Nawaz appeared before the JIT on Friday (June 2) where he was grilled for seven hours.
Hassan Nawaz made an appearance before the probing team after second notice. Earlier, he had been asked to appear on Wednesday (May 31) but he could not comply with the first notice. He had sought time for recording his statement due to legal complications.
Panama Verdict
The Supreme Court of Pakistan had announced the verdict of landmark Panama case on April 20, in which it ordered the formation of a Joint Investigation Team to probe the offshore assets of Sharif family.
Representatives from Intra Services Intelligence, Military Intelligence, State Bank of Pakistan, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan and National Accountability Bureau are part of the team headed by Wajid Zia of Federal Investigation Agency.
In its judgement, the Supreme Court had also outlined the scope of the proposed JIT, which would probe how the Gulf Steel Mills in UAE came into being, what led to its sale, what happened to its liabilities, where did its sale proceeds end up, how did they reach Jeddah, Qatar and the UK, whether Hussain Nawaz and Hassan Nawaz in view of their ages at the time had the means to possess and purchase the flats, and whether the sudden appearance of the letters of Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jaber Al-Thani of the Qatar was a myth or a reality.
The court also asked how bearer shares translated into the four upscale flats in London, who was the real and beneficial owner of Nielsen Enterprises Limited and Nescoll Limited, how did Hill Metal Establishment come into existence, where did the money for Flagship Investment Limited and other companies set up or taken over by Hassan Nawaz and where did the working capital for such companies come from and where do the huge sums running into millions gifted by Hussain Nawaz to the prime minister drop in from, Dawn News reported.
JIT
FIA Additional Director Wajid Zia is heading the investigation team comprising SBP officer Amer Aziz, SECP Executive Director Bilal Rasool, Balochistan NAB DG Irfan Naeem Mangi, intelligence officials retired Brig Nauman Saeed and Brig Kamran Khurshid.
