Panama Papers probe: Nawaz Sharif’s daughter Maryam appears before Supreme Court-appointed JIT

Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s daughter Maryam Sharif on Wednesday appeared for the first time before the Joint Investigation Team probing the high-profile Panamagate graft case against her family. [caption id=“attachment_3778767” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Nawaz Sharif. Reuters[/caption] Maryam, 43, was accompanied by her husband Muhammad Safdar, brothers Hassan Nawaz and Hussain Nawaz, Minister of Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb and prime minister’s Special Assistant Asif Kirmani. Maryam, who is carefully being groomed by her father as political heir, arrived at the Federal Judicial Academy (FJA) in the capital for questioning by the six-member JIT set up in May by the Supreme Court. The JIT is expected to complete the report by 10 July. A large number of workers from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) were present outside the building who raised slogans in her favour. Maryam responded by waving to the supporters. She is the eighth member of the Sharif family to be summoned by the JIT. The JIT has repeatedly questioned her brothers Hussain and Hassan, while it has also recorded the statements of Prime Minister Sharif, his brother Chief Minister of Pakistan Shahbaz Sharif, the prime minister’s son-in-law (retired) Captain Mohammad Safdar, the prime minister’s cousin Tariq Shafi, and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar — the father-in-law of the prime minister’s younger daughter. PML-N top leadership has criticised the JIT’s decision to summon the daughter of the prime minister. Sharif’s brother and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif strongly objected to Maryam’s summoning. “There is no moral justification of the JIT decision to summon the daughter of the prime minister”, he said. “We accept the JIT’s privilege to summon any person as witness but our civilisation teaches us to respect women”, he added.