Prime minister’s son grilled over family assets
Says he had complied with the team’s directions and preferred to appear before it in person
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s son Hussain Nawaz appeared before the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) in connection with the Panama Papers probe into the family’s assets, the media reported yesterday.
Headed by Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Additional Director General Wajid Zia, the JIT grilled Hussain Nawaz on Sunday for about two-andhalf hours at the Federal Judicial Academy (FJA) here, Dawn News reported.
Though he has raised objections against two of the six JIT members, which will be taken up by the Supreme Court, Hussain Pakistan’s Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan said that if Supreme Court investigates or forms a joint investigation team in his case they will come to only one point — that he never committed anything unlawful.
In his message to social networking site Twitter, Khan said, “whether SC investigates or forms JIT in my case, here is my challenge, whatever they want to do, they will come to only one conclusion and that is I never have done anything illegal, nor have I ever been served a tax notice”. Khan further said people fear that he might be disqualified, but they must know one thing it will be a small price to pay to rid Pakistan of corruption mafias and god fathers. He said he bought London flats in 1983 and paid tax on it, sold it in 2003 and brought the money back through legal banking channels and he used the same money for purchasing Bani gala land. Nawaz told the media that since the court had not issued a restraining order, he had complied with the team’s directions and preferred to appear before it in person.
“I received a notice from the JIT yesterday (Saturday) and was asked to appear on May 28,” he said. The JIT was formed by the Pakistan Supreme Court last month for the implementation of the Panama leaks verdict which said there was not enough evidence to disqualify Prime Minister Sharif.
But in a 3-2 judgement, the apex court ordered a fresh probe into allegations of financial irregularities and money laundering against the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister’s son had said earlier that he wanted to appear before the JIT in the presence of his lawyer.
But sources told Dawn news that the JIT did not allow counsel to assist Hussain Nawaz during his interview and asked him to first seek permission from the Supreme Court.
Along with the Prime Minister, the apex court also cleared his daughter Maryam Nawaz in the leaked Panama Papers case.
Last year’s Panama Papers leaks, which documented the offshore dealings of many of the world’s rich and powerful, alleged that Maryam was the beneficiary owner of the London properties owned jointly by her brothers as well.