Nawaz Sharif contests Panama panel over London flats

Islamabad: Embattled Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday contested the graft charges against him and his family in the Supreme Court, saying the Panama probe panel did not produce any document to prove that he was the owner of the posh London flats, which are at the centre of the high- profile case.

The apex court had started hearing the scandal on Monday after the JIT submitted its final report on July 10, recommending that a corruption case be file against Mr Sharif and his family for alleged money laundering in the 1990s, when he twice served as prime minister, to purchase assets in London.

Mr Sharif’s lawyer Khawaja Harris stressed that the JIT “did not level any specific graft charge against Sharif.” He also said that the JIT has not produced any document to prove that Mr Sharif, 67, was the owner of the London flats. Mr Harris’s arguments were directed at the six-member JIT, two of whom were from the Inter-Services Intelligence and the Military Intelligence.

He said the JIT had overstepped its mandate given to it by the court and had based its findings on the documents, which were of no evidentiary value as per the Pakistani laws. If Mr Sharif loses the case in the Supreme Court, it could cost him his premiership.