‘I may have made a mistake,’ clarifies CJP on Panama JIT remarks

–Justice Nisar says he meant the Dawn Leaks JIT

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar on Thursday clarified his earlier remarks regarding the joint investigation team (JIT) to probe Panama Papers, admitting he may have made a mistake and referring that his statement was actually on an inquiry committee to investigate the Dawn Leaks.

In an earlier hearing of the money laundering probe, Justice Nisar had said: “Maybe the members of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Military Intelligence (MI) were included in the Panama Papers leaks case to spice up (Tarka) the probe,” dismissing the possibility of inclusion of the intelligence agencies officials in the white-collar crime. He was also quoted by the media as saying that the officials of intelligence services were included in the Panama Papers JIT on the behest of then interior minister Chaudhry Nisar.

He has now clarified that he was referring to the team formed on the recommendation of Nisar to investigate the so-called Dawn Leaks controversy.

Justice Nisar said, “I may have made a mistake.” He added that he “meant the Dawn Leaks JIT.”

It has emerged that the officials of MI and ISI, in Dawn Leaks inquiry committee, had also been on the Panama Papers JIT, and that the chief justice had made an observation to this effect in court while noting that ex-PM Nawaz Sharif and former interior minister Nisar had themselves recommended the inclusion of those officials in the first instance.

On Wednesday, Nisar had also issued a statement denying any involvement in the formation of the JIT for the Panama Papers case and noting that it had been formed on the orders of the top court bench that was hearing the case.

He had added that including military officials in the JIT was solely the bench’s decision.

MISREPORTING:

During Thursday’s hearing, the chief justice reprimanded reporters of a prominent media organisation for mixing up his remarks, adding that they must have misreported the issue.

He also warned that if reporters were not careful in the future, he would be forced to stop them from covering court news. The reporters in question offered an apology in return, after which the CJP didn’t pursue the matter further.