ISLAMABAD: While recording her statement before the accountability court on Thursday, Maryam Nawaz asserted that the Joint Investigation Team’s (JIT) report in the Panama Papers case was merely an ‘investigative’ document, and thus could not be used as evidence.
Maryam claimed that the Supreme Court had ordered references against her and her family on the basis of the report, but had not put down the report as evidence in any of the references.
The PML-N scion also cast doubt on the members of the JIT, targetting several members whom she believes ought not to have been a part of the team.
Irfan Mangi’s inclusion in the team, for instance, was dubious because his appointment as the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) director general was still under scrutiny in the SC when he was made a member of the team, argued Maryam.
Similarly, Maryam also said that the Amir Aziz of the State Bank (SBP) should not have been included in the team, since he was personally close to former dictator Pervez Musharraf, who had appointed Aziz as NAB’s banking director.
Today is the first day of Maryam recording her statement in the Avenfield references before Accountability Judge Muhammad Bashir.
Her father and ousted premier Nawaz Sharif recorded his statement over the past three days, and in his statement, he denied any share in the Avenfield properties, and also absolved himself of dealing with a Qatari family, the Dubai Steel Mills and Capital FZE.