FAZAL SHER

ISLAMABAD: The Joint Investigation Team (JIT) constituted to implement the Supreme Court’s verdict in the Panama Papers case has obtained the record of 17-year-old Hudaibiya Paper Mills case as well as asset details of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his son-in-law Captain Safdar (retd).

Sources said the six-member JIT headed by Additional Director General Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Wajid Zia had earlier written separate letters to Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for provision of asset details and record of Hudaibiya Papers Mills. They said that the record of Hudaibiya Papers Mills also includes NAB investigation report regarding the scam and confessional statement of Ishaq Dar, they said.

The JIT consists of the representatives of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Military Intelligence (MI). The investigation team will submit a progress report after every two weeks to the apex court while it is also supposed to complete the probe within two months.

According to the terms of reference of the JIT, it is mandated to probe the matter in the light of 13 questions which the larger bench had devised while announcing its verdict in the Panama Papers case.

The questions include: How did Gulf Steel Mill come into being?; what did lead to its sale?; what did happen to its liabilities?; where did its sale proceeds end up?; how did they (sale proceeds) reach Jeddah, Qatar and the UK?; whether did Hussain Nawaz and Hassan Nawaz in view of their tender ages have the means in the early nineties to possess and purchase the flats?; is sudden appearance of the letters of Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jaber Al-Thani a myth or a reality?; how did bearer shares crystallise into flats; who is, in fact, the real and beneficial owner of M/s 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/taken over by Hassan Nawaz come from 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 Mian Nawaz Sharif drop in from, which go to the heart of the matter? The larger bench had ruled that all these questions needed to be answered.

The apex court has already empowered the JIT to summon Prime Minister Sharif and his sons as and when required.