Islamabad: Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was fighting for his political future on Tuesday after a probe team found that his family had accumulated wealth far exceeding their sources of income, with his allies denouncing the findings and vowing he would clear his name.
A Joint Investigation Team (JIT), set up by the Supreme Court to investigate corruption allegations that surfaced following the Panama Papers leak, submitted its final report to the court on Monday after a two-month probe.
In their report, which has been leaked to media, the team alleged Sharif's family accumulated wealth far above its earnings, and says his children, including heir-apparent Maryam Sharif, signed falsified documents designed to mask the truth.
The team in its 254-page report alleges the family’s businesses alone are not enough to explain its wealth, which includes upscale London flats. It also recommended the anti-corruption National Accountancy Bureau (NAB) file a case against Sharif, according to a copy of the report seen by Reuters, as well as reporting by Dawn newspaper and other Pakistani media.
The Supreme Court will decide how to proceed and whether to call for a trial. Sharif's term expires in June 2018 and elections are expected two months later. If he were forced to step down, his ruling PML-N party can appoint a new prime minister until the elections.
Sources close to News18, however, said that Sharif will fight the charges and is unlikely to bow down. They said that during the probe, there were clear differences between the JIT and the government. The JIT has also accused the government of trying to obstruct proceedings by withholding evidence and influencing witnesses.
The probe team, formed of civilians and members of military agencies, including Inter-Services Intelligence agency, had summoned the PM’s sons Hasan and Hussain, his son-in-law Captain (Rtd) Muhammad Safdar, finance minister Ishaq Dhar and several of Sharif’s confidants, including his brother Shabaz Sharif, to testify. His daughter Maryam had also been summoned.
Additionally, sources also confirmed the existence of a controversial letter from Qatari prince Hamad Bin Jasim Jaber Al Thani that certified that the properties under scanner were purchased from funds raised by the liquidation of business ventures in which Sharif’s father Mian Muhammad Sharif and the prince were partners. The prince has refused to travel to Pakistan to testify in person.
With growing evidence, Sharif’s hold on the PM post is becoming increasingly untenable and opposition parties have increased the pressure on him to step down. Opposition leader Imran Khan said Sharif had “lost all moral authority” and must resign immediately. But Sharif's allies dismissed all the allegations against him and the report.
“It’s trash,” said Defence Minister Asif Khawaja, adding that the report was “full of flaws.” Sharif, the son of an industrialist, has denied wrongdoing and said his family's wealth was acquired legally.
In April, the Supreme Court ruled that there was insufficient evidence to remove Sharif from office - by a split 2-3 verdict - but it ordered further investigations, which the JIT was set up to carry out.
Sharif's daughter Maryam was not available for comment but she also dismissed the report in a post on Twitter. “JIT report REJECTED. Every contradiction will not only be contested but decimated in SC,” she wrote, referring to the Supreme Court.
The influential Dawn newspaper also carried a report, saying that army commanders had also held a meeting after the report surfaced, and pledged to “uphold national interest,” the signal being they are unlikely to take sides in the political conflict.
(With inputs from agencies)
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