Monday, Apr 24, 2017

Islamabad: Pakistan’s army has pledged that the corruption probe of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s family will be carried out in a “legal and transparent manner.”

The army statement, issued on Monday, comes after the Supreme Court last week ordered an investigation, while postponing its verdict in a case that could jeopardise Sharif’s political future.

The court case is based on petitions relating to documents, leaked in 2016 from a Panama-based law firm, which disclosed the Sharif family’s offshore wealth.

Military officials are to be part of the court-ordered commission on the Panama Papers case, which has two months to complete its investigations.

The military on Monday said it would live up to the confidence reposed by the Supreme Court in the institution by making the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Military Intelligence (MI) part of the team being set up by the apex court to probe offshore properties owned by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s family.

A five-member bench of the top court announced a majority 3-2 verdict in the Panama Papers case on April 20, with two judges ruling the prime minister should be disqualified for not being truthful and trustworthy whereas the three others called for further investigation.

The six-member Joint Investigation Team (JIT) will comprise officials of the National Accountability Bureau, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), State Bank Pakistan, ISI and Military Intelligence (MI) and will be led by a top officer of the Federal Investigation Agency.

An army corps commanders’ conference held in Rawalpindi near here discussed “the apex court’s Panamagate verdict with special reference to the JIT,’ the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement issued after the meeting.

“The forum pledged that the institution, through its members in the JIT, shall play its due role in a legal and transparent manner, fulfilling [the] confidence reposed [in the military] by the apex court,” the ISPR said.

Opposition parties have launched a public campaign following the verdict to press their demand that Nawaz Sharif resign, at least for the duration of the JIT which is to submit a report to the Supreme Court in 60 days after start of the probe. The court has ruled that the PM and his two sons will appear before the JIT when summoned.

Top leader of main opposition Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), former president Asif Ali Zardari, addressing a public meeting in the northwestern province at Mardan on Monday, renewed call for Sharif to step down.

Sharif’s arch rival, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Imran Khan is scheduled to address a public meeting in Islamabad on April 28 to gear up the party’s public mobilisation to increase pressure on the prime minister to quit.

By Mohsin Ali Correspondent

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