Panama Papers JIT dissolved as six members back to routine job

ISLAMABAD: Following the submission of Panama Papers Joint Investigation Team (JIT)’s report on July 10, the six-members probing team has been dissolved after completion of the Panamagate investigation with regard to money trail for Sharif family’s offshore properties.

All members of the probing team have been reported back to their parent departments.

The six-member investigation team was constituted on May 5 under the supervision of Supreme Court after handpicking six senior government officers to probe the Prime Minister and his children’s offshore properties in Panamagate case.

The JIT was headed by Wajid Zia of Federal Investigation Agency. The other five members were Amer Aziz of the State Bank of Pakistan, Executive Director of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan Bilal Rasool, National Accountability Bureau Director Irfan Naeem Mangi, Brig Muha­mmad Nauman Saeed of the Inter-Services Intelligence and Brig Kamran Khurshid of the Military Intelligence.

The team had been given 60 days to complete its probe in compliance with the top court’s judgment, announced on April 20, in the Panamagate case.

The Federal Judicial Academy in Islamabad had served as the secretariat of the JIT while it carried out its interrogation.

The team held numerous sessions at Federal Judicial Academy in Islamabad during which Hussain Nawaz, elder son of the Prime Minister, appeared before it for six times; Prime Minister’s younger son Hassan Nawaz three times and his daughter Maryam Nawaz once.

A special implementation bench comprising three judges of Supreme Court, formed on May 2, held hearings of Panamagate implementation case.

On July 10, the probing team formed to look into the money trail of ruling Sharif family’s offshore properties, submitted its fourth and final report to the Supreme Court and recommended the apex court to file reference against the prime minister and his two sons under the NAB Ordinance.

Amid the speculations revolving around either Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif gets disqualified or emerged stronger with regard to the Supreme Court’s possible judgment, the top court on July 10 (Friday) reserved its verdict after wrapping up fifth and final hearing of the ‘Panama Papers‘ case.