Qatari prince rejects JIT’s three options

ISLAMABAD: Qatari Prince Hamad Bin Jasim Bin Jaber al Thani on Monday rejected the three options put forward by the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) for recording his statement saying that his letter was enough.

He said that he could not appear before the JIT probing the Panama Papers case, saying that he was ‘busy’. The JIT had proposed that Prince Hamad Bin Jasim Bin Jaber alThani could appear before the JIT or could record his statement through video link or his statement might be recorded by the JIT in Qatar.

The JIT session is still going on with Wajid Zia in the chair at the Federal Judicial Academy.  The proceedings have been going on for 28 days. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s son, Hussain Nawaz, had requested that the Qatari prince be allowed to record his statement before the JIT via video link. On Monday, the JIT quashed the request. 

Meanwhile, a letter by Prince alThani had been delivered to the JIT, sources said. Officials said the letter, delivered first to the Pakistan Embassy in Doha, reached the Foreign Office from where it was transported — without any tampering — to the JIT headquarters at the Federal Judicial Academy, sources informed further.

On the other hand, the JIT will submit its second progress report on June 7 before the Supreme Court. In the third phase of investigations, PM Nawaz and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar are expected to appear before the JIT. So far, Hussain has appeared four times before the JIT while Hassan Nawaz has appeared once.