Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s son Hussain Nawaz on Sunday appeared before a Supreme Court-appointed joint investigation team (JIT) investigating his family’s business dealings abroad.

Hussain Nawaz said before his hearing that he was going to report to the investigation team along with his lawyer and did not wish to discuss the case with media. He said he had been given 24 hours to appear before the JIT and claimed he had not received any questionnaire from the investigating team before he received the summons.

The JIT refused to allow his lawyer to assist him in the interrogations.

Sources said Saad Hashmi accompanied Hussain during his appearance. According to the JIT, Hashmi could only be allowed to assist his client if allowed by the Supreme Court. Hussain then appeared alone.

PML-N leaders gathered in large number outside the Judicial Academy to support Hussain Nawaz, who went away without talking to the media.

Hussain will also be appearing before the SC today to voice his concerns about two JIT members. A three-member bench, headed by Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan, will hear his reservations.

Khawaja Haris is the lead counsel assisting the Sharifs in the probe. He will appear on Hussain’s behalf before the bench on Monday.

Sources said that Hussain in his application requested that, for the sake of propriety, the two officers should recuse themselves from the JIT to ensure an ‘upright and unbiased’ investigation into the allegations against the ruling family.

According to the source, one of the JIT members is considered a close friend of former president Gen (r) Pervez Musharraf. The other is said to be a relative of former Punjab governor Mian Azhar, a founding member of the Pakistan Muslim League and currently aligned with the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI).

Both PTI and Musharraf are considered arch rivals of the PML-N, which is headed by Hussain’s father.

The JIT had submitted an initial report before the Supreme Court on May 22. After reviewing the report, the contents of which were not made public, the three-member special bench of the apex court, formed to monitor the JIT’s proceedings, had warned Wajid Zia, head of the JIT, that the tasks assigned to them should be completed within the 60-day time-frame provided to the team.

“We will not allow extra time under any circumstances,” Justice Sheikh Azmat, a member of the bench, had said. He had directed the FIA director to report any problems faced by the members of the JIT to the court.

It has also been learnt that the JIT has started probing Rs 1.2 billion Hudabiya Paper Mills scam of money laundering against the Sharifs.

According to Ishaq Dar, a foreign currency account of Saeed Ahmad, former State Bank deputy governor and current president of the National Bank of Pakistan, was used to deposit huge funds to obtain direct and indirect credit lines.

Legal experts say the JIT now seems to be moving in the realm of Hudabiya scam in view of the fact that Ahmad was summoned to record his statement.

Hussain is the second individual to appear before the JIT after PM’s cousin Tariq Shafi.

In view of a recent directive from the Supreme Court that the JIT should conclude and complete its investigations within the allotted 60-day period, the JIT has been working even on weekends to meet the deadline.