ISLAMABAD: Returning Hajis may have the honour of returning on the same flight as some very important documents, the contents of which could make or break the Sharif family’s political careers.
This is because the Saudi government is likely to respond to a mutual legal assistance (MLA) request regarding Azizia Steel Company and Hill Metal Establishment made by the Joint Investigations Team that probed the Sharif family’s offshore assets.
Sources said on Thursday that recently an official of the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Interior had made official communications with a member of the JIT and expressed his government’s willingness to share the requested information.
The JIT member had responded by informing the Saudi official that while the JIT had completed its investigations and submitted a report with the Supreme Court, the Saudi government response can still be addressed to the Supreme Court, which could then directly forward it to the National Accountability Bureau. The corruption watchdog is investigating the Sharifs and their assets, including the two companies in question.
The JIT had contacted six countries for mutual legal assistance during its 60-day probe into the financial affairs of the Sharif family. The probe consequently led to the disqualification of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif by the Supreme Court and the initiation of NAB proceedings against him and his children, among others.
The countries and authorities which were contacted by the JIT include the office of the attorney general of the British Virgin Islands (BVI), the UK Home Office, the Saudi Interior Ministry, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ministry of Justice, the Central Authority of Switzerland, and the office of the prosecutor general of Luxemburg.
But only two of the six authorities had responded by the time the JIT report was finalised – the BVI attorney general and the UAE Justice Ministry. Their responses are part of the confidential Volume X of the JIT report.
Earlier, the SC, on the request of JIT head Wajid Zia, had announced that it would keep Volume X of the JIT report confidential, but later granted a NAB request for access to the volume.
A senior NAB official, when asked about the development, said the bureau had three more weeks to complete the reference for onward submission to an accountability court. “If NAB receives any additional evidence [from the Saudi government], it will be made part of the reference to be filed against the former PM and his sons related to Azizia Steel Company and Hill Metal Establishment,” he said.