ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is chairing a high-level consultative session prior to his departure for the Federal Judicial Academy where he will be questioned by the Panama case Joint Investigation Team (JIT).
Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan are attending the meeting.
Dar briefed the premier over the documents he will be taking along with him.
The JIT is probing the premier’s family’s global money trail in light of the Supreme Court’s April 20 judgment in the Panama Papers case.
Extraordinary security arrangements have been put in place in and around the academy, where the JIT secretariat is based.
The Islamabad Police, along with Rangers and other law enforcement personnel, have drawn up a special security and traffic plan for the premier’s visit.
A total of 2,668 security personnel, including 400 from the FC and 180 from the Punjab Rangers, have been deployed for the event. A security cordon has been put in place around the building, with special entry for the media only.
The Islamabad Traffic Police has also issued a special traffic plan, so citizens going in and out of Sector H-8 are not inconvenienced.
Sources said the security staff of Prime Minister (PM) House has completed the security sweep of the academy as well as the investigation room.
A bullet-proof dais has also been erected in front of the academy, where the premier is expected to address the media.
Sources also said that the PM House security staff, as well as the premier’s personal staff, will not be permitted to accompany the prime minister into the building.
The prime minister is slated to appear before the investigation team at 11am. The JIT has asked the premier to bring “all relevant records, documents and material” with him.
Earlier this week, the premier received a summons from the JIT over its high-profile probe in light of the Supreme Court’s April 20 verdict.
Following the summons, the premier asked all his supporters and party workers to refrain from gathering at the academy during his appearance.
The Supreme Court began investigating Sharif late last year after the main political parties failed to agree on a committee to probe the Panama Papers leaks, and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan threatened mass protests and to ‘shut down Islamabad’.
In its April 20 judgment, the five-member Supreme Court bench ruled that there was insufficient evidence to remove Sharif from office on the back of the Panama Papers leaks, but it ordered further investigations under a JIT.
The JIT team is headed by Federal Investigation Agency Additional Director Wajid Zia, and includes members from Inter-Services Intelligence, Military Intelligence, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, State Bank of Pakistan and the National Accountability Bureau.
Previously, the PM’s elder son, Hussain, and younger son, Hassan, have appeared before the JIT five and two times, respectively.
The PM’s brother, Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif, has also been summoned for questioning on June 17. Similarly, the PM’s son-in-law, MNA Capt (retd) Muhammad Safdar, has been summoned on June 24.
Moreover, former interior minister Senator Rehman Malik is also expected to appear before the JIT on June 23.