Forgery may land family in jail

Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s children may face consequences for submitting ‘forged’ documents to the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) probing the ruling family’s offshore assets, the Supreme Court said on Thursday.

Supreme Court judge Ijazul Ahsan, who is part of a three-judge bench, said the Dubai government has revealed the documents of Gulf Steel Mills provided by the Sharif family are forged.

“Dubai customs has no record of the transportation of the machinery of Gulf Steel Mills from Dubai to Saudi Arabia,” he observed.

Responding to the query by the bench, additional attorney general Waqar Rana said seven years of imprisonment could be awarded to someone who is found involved in forgery. “We can’t shut our eyes as law will take its course because fake documents have been submitted in the Supreme Court,” Justice Azmat Saeed Sheikh observed.

The bench also lamented over Qatari Prince Hammad Bin Jassam’s attitude with JIT, saying he neither agreed to record his statement on video link nor was willing to come to Pakistan Embassy in Doha.

Justice Ijaz Ahsan also asked the counsel for the PM’s children, Salman Akram Raja, why the family did not explain how they paid Rs 21 million liability after the selling of Al Azizia Mills in Saudi Arabia and how Rs 63 million was transferred to Hussain Nawaz’s account.

Another judge of the top court, Justice Azmat Saeed Sheikh, observed it has been confirmed that the PM’s daughter, Maryam, is the beneficial owner of London flats. “It is not allegation but a matter of fact that Maryam is the beneficial owner of the flats,” the judge said.

On this, the counsel said the JIT did not confront his clients on the material that was collected by the probing team, adding that they could not be prosecuted in this matter.

Mr Raja added there was no allegation of wrongdoing against his clients. However, the SC bench responded saying the allegation against PM Sharif’s children is that they forged the documents, and therefore they should be prosecuted for the forgery.

Meanwhile, British Virgin Islands (BVI) have refused to assist and render the information regarding offshore companies, Nielson and Nescoll, allegedly owned by the PM’s children.

In a letter sent by the BVI to the JIT, it was maintained that to get the required information, the probing team should tell them how the offence was committed and provide extract of the law via-a-vis to the offence committed.

The request sent by the JIT doesn’t clearly indicate whether criminal investigations are ongoing or proceedings have commenced with respect to the company, or with respect to the persons closely affiliated with the said company, the letter written by BVI’s attorney general office read.

It added the summary of the facts did not provide any background information that shows the nexus between the companies mentioned.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has said he had not been involved in any sort of corruption. Rather, he said, he has saved Rs 168 billion in various development projects all over the country.