Monitoring judge allows NAB to record statements of JIT members

LAHORE:  The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) is likely to issue summons for the six-member joint investigation team (JIT) in Panama Case, on Monday (tomorrow) for recording their statements, sources told The News.

 Accepting the NAB's request,  the Supreme Court's monitoring judge, Justice Ijaz-ul-Ahsan on Saturday directed the NAB, "to include these statements as prosecution witnesses in references," in the accountability courts against the Sharif family and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar. The NAB authorities also presented the initial report to the monitoring judge. 

Following the nod from Justice Ijaz-ul-Ahsan, the executive board is likely to allow NAB to issue summons of appearance to the JIT members including FIA Additional Director General (Immigration) Wajid Zia, Amer Aziz of the State Bank of Pakistan, Bilal Rasool of the Securities Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), NAB Balochistan DG Irfan Naeem Mangi, retired Brig Nauman Saeed of the Inter-Service-Intelligence (ISI) and Brig Kamran Khurshid of the Military Intelligence (MI).

The NAB had earlier approached JIT member Wajid Zia to record statement, but he asked them to get permission from the apex court. Following the Supreme Court directions on the Panama Papers case judgment of July 28, the NAB wanted to record statements of JIT members as witnesses before filing four references against the Sharif family and Dar.

The NAB sources, seeking anonymity, told this correspondent that the NAB Executive Board was likely to meet on Monday with the bureau chairman, Qamar Zaman Chaudhry, in the chair. The NAB Lahore and Rawalpindi, sources said, would inform the executive board about the progress made on their investigation against the Sharif family and the finance minister.

“Response from the Sharif family as well as from Ishaq Dar would also be discussed at length,” sources said, adding
that the future course of action of NAB would also be decided in the meeting. Similarly, the executive board would also decide if there is any need to issue another notice to the Sharif family and Dar. The sources further said that the arrest orders for Sharifs could also be discussed during the all important meeting.

Following the Supreme Court order, the NAB Lahore and NAB Rawalpindi started the probe into foreign assets of Sharifs and Dar before filing references against them in accountability courts.

The Sharif family – Nawaz, Hussain Nawaz, Hassan Nawaz, Maryam Nawaz and Cap (retd) Muhammad Safdar – and Dar haven’t appeared before the investigators to record their statements even after several notices during the last couple of weeks.

They have informed NAB that they wouldn’t appear before the investigators until their review petitions against the Panama Papers case judgment are decided by the Supreme Court.