Nawaz says he was not associated in business dealings with Qatri family

ISLAMABAD, May 22 (APP):Former prime minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif Tuesday informed the Accountability Court (AC) of Islamabad that he was not associated to any business dealings with the Qatari family.
Recording his statement before AC Judge Muhammad Bashir in the Avenfield London property reference, Nawaz said neither he was neither involved in the sale of 25% shares of Gulf Steel Mills to the Qatri royal family nor in the investment of its proceeds.
The reply received from the United Arab Emirates in that regard could not be presented as evidence as it was received through a mutual legal assistance (MLA) request, which was not made a case record earlier, he added.
Nawaz said in light of available evidences, the investigation had failed to prove that he was the unnamed owner of London flats.
He said he had never been an owner, director or shareholder of FZE Company and had no role in any of its business activity. The 2012 Mosaic Fonseca letter presented by Joint Investigation Team (JIT) head Wajid Zia could not be used as a primary document, as it could not be certified as per the customary laws, he added.
The former prime minister said the JIT head was not a trustworthy witness as he could go to
any extent for awarding punishment to him (Nawaz). Zia, he alleged, had told a lie before the court regarding the JIT members’ collective decision for sending a questionnaire to witnesses before recording their statements. During the cross-examination, Zia admitted that the questionnaire was sent to Jeremy Freeman through Akther Raja, he added.
Nawaz Sharif said Qatari Prince Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabor al Thani had himself verified the letters presented to the Supreme Court, however, the JIT did not even record his statement.
Nawaz stated that Jeremy Freeman had verified trust deeds of Comber Group, Nielsen and Nescol on January 5, 2017. Freeman retained copies of the trust deeds at his office and the investigating officer did not make any effort to obtain the same, he added.
He said the letters of Mosaic Fonseca and Financial Investigation Agency (FIA) presented by Zia could not be used as a primary document as they were not certified under customary laws.
He said he had nothing to do with the settlement between Hudabiya Papers Mills and Al-Tufeeq Bank, citing that the statement of Shezi Naqvi was also endorsement of his stance.
During the course of hearing, the NAB prosecutor raised objection on reading the contents of statement by counsel Khawaja Haris on behalf of his client Nawaz Sharif.
After the objection, Nawaz started reading the statement himself.
Later, the court adjourned the case till Wednesday.
Maryam Nawaz and Capt (Retd) Muhammad Safdar were also present in the court.