A Joint Investigation Team on Wednesday questioned the daughter of Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif over allegations that the Sharif family purchased expensive flats in London using money undeclared before tax authorities in Pakistan. The allegations came forth following publication of the Panama Papers last year.
Maryam Nawaz, who is widely tipped to be the political heir apparent of Mr. Sharif, is accused of being the owner of one of the offshore companies through which the flats were purchased. Maryam denied the allegations, saying she was only a trustee-owner of the company that belongs to her brother.
In April this year, Pakistan’s Supreme Court ordered the constitution of the JIT following a 3-2 split verdict in favour of the Prime Minister. The court declared that it would decide the fate of Mr. Sharif and his family after the JIT report, set to be submitted next week. Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI), the opposition party led by cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, had filed a petition in the court last year following the disclosures made in the Panama Papers.
Maryam was questioned for two hours on Wednesday by the JIT. She later told the media that she “responded” to the queries of the investigators. However, she claimed that when she had asked about her crime, the investigators did not spell out the specific allegations.
“I have committed no crime. We have a family business. Despite the fact that the Supreme Court did not mention my name in the Panama [Papers] case verdict, the JIT summoned me. I came to uphold the rule of law,” she said.
The JIT comprises financial forensic experts and representatives of the military agencies ISI and MI.
Mr. Khan later took to Twitter to criticise the “protocol” accorded to the Prime Minister’s daughter.
“Pakistani nation must decide once and for all if we are a democracy or a baadshahat [kingdom],” he tweeted.
However, Information Minister for State Maryam Aurangzeb claimed Mr. Sharif’s daughter appeared before the JIT as an ordinary citizen.
