BY RAJA FAISAL
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan, on Saturday, has granted permission to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to record statements of the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) members who probed assets of the Sharif family.
Sources reveal Justice Ijazul Ahsan—the judge appointed by the SC to oversee NAB’s proceedings against Sharif family—after accepting NAB Islamabad’s request, wrote to the apex court last week.
Sources had earlier revealed that JIT head Wajid Zia refused to give statements to NAB, saying the investigative team was no longer effective; therefore, he would not speak about the issue until court orders were received.
In a permission letter issued on Saturday, addressed to Wajid Zia – additional director general of FIA and JIT head– the judge directed that in order to ensure that all legal requirements and formalities are fulfilled and to avoid any possible lacuna that may damage the case, the head of the JIT, as well as the other concerned members, must record their statements before the combined investigation teams (CIT) of Lahore and Rawalpindi.
The CIT will be allowed to either call upon all of the JIT members or select the members to record the statements. The presence of the JIT head would be compulsory along with any other concerned member or members. It further clarified that the questions asked to JIT members should only be relevant to evidence and the efforts made to collect the evidence.
Earlier, on August 19, NAB requested Ijazul Ahsan to oversee the Panama case and to grant permission to question and record the statements of the JIT members.
NAB sources told Pakistan Today that initially, the CIT had decided not to record statements of the JIT members as the evidence was credible and authentic. “Documentary evidence is undoubtedly authentic and to the point, but the CIT wants to record statements to clarify few things and fulfil the legal requirements needed to close the case,” the source said.
