A five-member larger bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa, resumed hearing on Thursday (today) in the petitions filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and Awami Muslim League (AML).
A second letter signed by Qatari royal Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jaber Al-Thani was submitted to the Supreme Court attempted to offer up clarification on the Sharif family’s business ties and money trail in the Middle East.
he letter attempts to shed light on “certain queries… raised with respect to my statement dated Nov 5, 2016.”
The second letter from the Qatari royal, like the first which was submitted in court last November, is marked private, confidential and not to be disclosed to any party, except for the benefit of the courts of Pakistan, and on the letterhead of Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jaber Al Thani, who ruled Qatar from 2007 to 2013.
In it, Al-Thani says PM Nawaz’s father, Mian Muhammad Sharif, made an investment of approximately 12 million dirhams in the Al-Thani family’s real estate business.
“The investment was made by way of provision of cash which was common practice in the Gulf region at the time of the investment. It was also, given the longstanding relationship between my father and Mr Sharif, a customary way for them to do business between themselves,” it said.
“At the end of 2005, after receiving all accruals and other distributions made over the term of the investment, it was agreed that an amount of approx $8,000,000 was due to Mr Sharif. The amount due to him was settled in 2006,” the letter explained, “by way of the delivery to Mr Hussain Nawaz Sharif’s representative of bearer shares of Nescoll Ltd and Nielsen Enterprises Ltd, which had been kept during that time in Qatar.”
The letter is accompanied by transaction details and auditor’s reports regarding the Gulf Steel Mills in Dubai and the Azizia Steel Mills in Jeddah.
Moreover, Maryam Nawaz’s counsel Shahid Hamid, continuing his arguments in the Supreme Court, said married women do not come under the definition of the dependence of their parent.
Shahid Hamid told the court that his client responded to the allegations in her interview.
Furthermore, the counsel for Hassan and Hussain Nawaz submitted their replies before the Supreme Court.
Along with these details, a transcript of Maryam Nawaz Sharif’s TV interview was also submitted before the Supreme Court.
Read more: Panamagate: ‘Is Maryam a trustee or an owner?’