JIT admitted tapping our phones, says Saad Rafique

ISLAMABAD: Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique on Saturday said that the Joint Investigation Team probing Sharif family’s offshore firms admitted tapping the phones of Ittefaq Group’s Haroon Pasha and Prime Minister’s cousin Tariq Shafi thereby conducting an illegal activity ARY News reported.

Addressing a press conference in Islamabad alongside Khawaja Asif and Ahsan Iqbal,  Saad Rafique maintained that JIT, through technical means, has admitted that Haroon Pasha and Tariq Shafi’s phones were tapped but his party would like to know as to who allowed the JIT to tap phones.

“We want to know that which law in Pakistan allows someone to tap phones, other than those of jet black terrorists,” said Saad Rafique.

He also named some JIT members and claimed that his party had raised questions over their inclusion in JIT but to no avail. First he said that Amir Aziz, was a part of Musharraf launched NAB and was asked to go after Sharif family while Bilal Rasool is a relative of Mian Azhar (PTI) and his wife was a part of rival party PML-Q and now is in PTI.

He also accused the JIT members of pressurizing some members of the Sharif family members and relatives to change their statements.

‘Qatari letter must be verified’

Speaking on the occasion, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif maintained that the government believes in transparency and will like the JIT to make it public.

“Not a single second of JIT proceedings should stay away from the public eye, this (investigation) shouldn’t stay secret,” said Asif.

He even offered that PML-N will bear all expenses if JIT’s proceedings will be released on compact discs.

The minister also made it clear that his party will not accept the report if the letters from former Qatari PM Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani are not verified and the Qatari Royal’s statement is not recorded.

‘Some JIT questions weren’t related to original petition’

Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, on his turn, said that some of the questions that JIT members asked were not even related to the original petition but Sharif family members answered them to set an example.

“I will like to ask those who call us Godfather and mafia that mafia and Godfathers neither allow courts to work and nor present themselves and their children before JIT,” said Ahsan Iqbal.

He added that PML-N submitted itself before laws of the land as it believes in rule of law.

“A man who calls us Badshah (King), hasn’t presented himself before ECP in a case for last four years,” said Ahsan Iqbal, in an indirect taunt at PTI chief Imran Khan.

He also lamented that due to “political theatrics” of a “certain party”, Pakistan’s economy had to bear losses as their sit-in delayed Chinese President’s visit and now is negatively affecting the stock market but PML-N will not allow that party to play with the future of the country.

He also termed Imran Khan a bigger protector of corrupt leaders than former military ruler General (retd) Pervez Musharraf.