Team to probe Pakistani PM’s Panama scandal finalized

KARACHI, Pakistan The Supreme Court on Friday finalized the names of six individuals who will work as part of the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to probe allegations of financial irregularities as revealed by Panama Papers against the premier’s family. The team will be led by a senior official of the Federal Investigation Authority (FIA) and also include a representative from each of the military’s two spy agencies -- the Inter-Services Intelligence and the Military Intelligence. State Bank of Pakistan, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan and National Accountability Bureau representatives will also be part of the team, it was revealed during a court proceeding in the capital Islamabad. On April 20, a five-member bench of the Supreme Court decided not to disqualify Sharif from office but ordered further probe into the alleged Panama Papers scandal involving the premier’s children. All five judges had expressed dissatisfaction with the money trail provided by Sharif’s lawyers and pointed out the failure of the country’s top anti-corruption bodies -- the National Accountability Bureau and the FIA -- in probing the scandal. The prime minister and his two sons have to appear before the JIT, which would complete its probe into the case within 60 days. The special committee was also made bound to present its report fortnightly before the apex court. Sharif, who is serving as premier for the third term, has lately come under immense pressure from the opposition and the media after the Panama Papers were leaked last year, which revealed that his two sons -- Hassan Nawaz and Hussain Nawaz -- and daughter Maryam Nawaz owned offshore companies, and properties worth millions of dollars, including controversial luxurious flats in London. The premier maintains his innocence and has rejected all accusations of financial irregularities against him. He has repeatedly said that all transactions made by his family members were fair and in accordance with the country’s laws. In April 2016, Sharif's eldest son, Hussain Nawaz, admitted in an interview with a local Pakistani channel that his family owned the offshore companies and the flats in London. He had insisted the transactions were all legal and refused to make his assets public, claiming that such a move could harm his business interests. Sharif came to power for a third term following his right-wing Pakistan Muslim League Party’s landslide victory in the 2013 elections. His previous two terms as prime minister had ended prematurely under pressure from the Pakistani military. The Panama Papers released by Washington-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists in April last year pointed fingers at 140 politicians worldwide, among them 11 current and former national leaders, claiming they worked with the firm Mossack Fonseca to establish shadow companies for global transactions and money laundering. Their revelation sent shockwaves across the world, resulting in the resignation of Iceland’s Premier Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson and political pressure on the then British Prime Minister, David Cameron, who later admitted to having a profitable stake in a fund owned by his father.