JIT begins probe into Sharif graft charges

ISLAMABAD The Joint Investigation Team (JIT) formed by Pakistan’s Supreme Court to probe graft allegations against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his family in the Panama Papers case began work on Tuesday with an informal meeting in Islamabad.

The court last week approved the six-member team comprising one representative each from the State Bank of Pakistan, Securities and Exchange Commission, National Accountability Bureau, Federal Investigation Agency, Military Intelligence and InterServices Intelligence.

The team’s head, FIA additional director general Wajid Zia, was briefed about security protocols of the Federal Judicial Academy, which has been declared the JIT’s official secretariat. The first formal meeting of the JIT is expected over the next few days.

According to an FIA official, the JIT’s head also wrote a letter to the FIA director general, asking him to nominate five officers with expertise in probing white collar crime.

The JIT will submit progress reports every fortnight to the three-judge bench of the Supreme Court formed to oversee the implementation of the Panama Papers verdict.

Meanwhile, the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf said on Monday that the inquiry into the assets of the Sharif family should not be held behind closed doors. "We will not accept in-camera proceedings of the JIT," party spokesperson Fawad Chaudhry told the media.