Hussain Nawaz misses meeting with Qatari prince, heads to London from Doha

DOHA - Hussain Nawaz, the elder son of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif headed to London en route Qatar after failing to meet Qatari prince Hammad Bin Jassim, it emerged on Friday.

According to a report by The News, citing a close aide of ruling Sharif family, Hussain who flew off to Qatar a day after his sister Maryam Nawaz appeared before the Joint Investigation Team, met close friends in Doha but he did not call on Qatari prince.

“Hussain Nawaz spent some five hours in Doha yesterday (July 6). He met some important friends. But he did not meet Qatari Prince Hammad bin Jasim,” a close aide of the Sharif family said.

The source detailed that Hussain arrived in London after Doha stopover, and that he would head back to Pakistan on Sunday.

According to sources privy to the developments, the embassy is playing a vital role to establish official communication between the Qatari prince and the six-member JIT head Wajid Zia. The Foreign Office, however, did not comment on the matter.

Moreover, Pakistan’s Ambassador in Qatar Shahzad Ahmed is also on leave until July 19th.

It bears mentioning that Hussain Nawaz became the centre of Panama Leaks controversy last year after he appeared on television shows with statements apparently contradicting earlier claims of Sharif family regarding their assets.

His departure to Qatar became pivotal in the backdrop of the fact that the ruling family submitted a letter of Qatari Prince Hammad bin Jassim Al-Thani to bolster their money trail, last year before the apex court.

The members of Joint Investigation Team also contacted the Qatari prince for recording his statement, but according to unconfirmed reports, the prince refused to visit Pakistan or show up at Pakistan’s embassy arguing that the jurisdiction did not apply on him.

After the reply, reportedly two members of JIT, Irfan Mangi from National Accountability Bureau and Brig. Kamran Khursheed, a representative of Military Intelligence headed to Dubai to collect details regarding the Gulf Steel Mills.

The Joint Investigation Team would submit its final report to the Supreme Court on July 10 (Monday) after which the political fate of third-time elected premier Nawaz Sharif would be decided.