Prime Minister appears before JIT

ISLAMABAD, June 15 (APP): Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif appeared before the Joint Investigation Team (JIT), set up by the Supreme Court to probe the Panama Papers case Thursday.
The Prime Minister was accompanied by son Hussain Nawaz, Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif and his son Hamza Shahbaz, son-in-law MNA Capt (Retd) Safdar, Political Secretary Asif Kirmani and Principal Secretary Fawad Hassan Fawad and other officials.
The Prime Minister, attired in a Shalwar Kameez and waist coat, waved to the large number of party workers gathered outside the venue to express solidarity with him.
The Prime Minister appeared before the six-member JIT alone at the Judicial Academy building. Those accompanying the prime minister, later returned to the PM House.
A three-member special SC bench, headed by Justice Ijaz Afzal Khan and comprising Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed and Justice Ijazul Ahsen, had constituted a six-member JIT, led by Additional Director General (Immigration), Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Wajid Zia.
Other members of the investigation team are Amir Aziz from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Bilal Rasool, Executive Director, Securities Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), Irfan Naeem Mangi Director National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Brigadier Kamran Khursheed from the Military Intelligence (MI) and Brigadier Nauman Saeed from the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
The JIT was set up to facilitate the investigation and collect evidence in line with the order passed by a five-member larger bench on April 20.
The JIT has already questioned the two sons of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif; Hassan Nawaz and Hussain Nawaz over the funding for purchase of apartments in London and their off-shore companies.
Hundreds of PML-N leaders and workers including lawyers gathered outside the Federal Judicial Academy building to express solidarity with the prime minister. Carrying banners and placards they raised slogans; “Mian terey jan nisar be shumar be shumar”, “dekho dekho kon aya, sher aya, sher aya”. They also raised slogans against the PTI leader Imran Khan.
Strict security arrangements were made around the Academy building with multiple tiers of security cordon by police and FC in riot gear.