Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The ruling Sharifs are likely to hire Haris Khawaja to defend Hussain Nawaz in the Supreme Court against the Joint Investigation Team (JIT).

The implementation bench headed by Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan has been supervising the work of six-member JIT, probing alleged corruption by the Sharifs.

Likewise, the three-member implementation bench is scheduled to take up the matter of reservations and objections over JIT for hearing on May 29.

On May 20, Nawaz Sharif’s son had written to the SC registrar regarding the JIT’s ‘misbehaviour’ with Tariq Shafi, the key person in Gulf Steel Mills (GSM).

The PML-N sources said the reservations and objections had been conveyed to the court after a consultation with Haris Khawaja. Sources added that the Sharifs had been continuously in contact with Khawaja in this regard.

Legal experts are viewing the acceptance of the letter for hearing as an exceptional case.

They said that this had been rarely happened that the court admitted an application for hearing which had not even been filed through the due procedure.

Hussain Nawaz in his 5-page application had highlighted the “political inclination” of the two members of JIT.

He had said that Bilal Rasool from Security Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) was pro-Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and had been vocal against the Sharifs.

The application had also annexed the details of Rasool’s social media accounts wherein he had been posting and commenting against the PML-N.

He stated that soon after Rasool was inducted in JIT, all the posts had been removed from his social media accounts allegedly by his wife.

“This act of hers, in fact, raised alarms in the mind of the undersigned, as her removal of posts from her social media account indicates her anxiety to conceal her loyalty, devotion and unremitting support for the PTI,” stated the application.

The application had stated that Ahmer Aziz, representative from State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), was CFO of Al Baraka Islamic Bank before joining the SBP in 1997, which was an associated organisation of Al Towfeek Company for Investment Funds which also had a commercial dispute with Hudaibiya Paper Mills since 1994. “In fact during course of investigation of Mr. Tariq Shafi on 15.05.2017, Mr. Amer Aziz betrayed his inner prejudice and grievance qua the High Court’s decision when he resorted to intimidatory tactics by threateningly suggesting to Mr. Tariq Shafi that he should withdraw his affidavit of facts before otherwise he may have to face penal consequences,” the application stated.