ISLAMABAD:
Two members of the Panamagate joint investigation team (JIT) arrived in Qatar on Tuesday to record Prince Hammad bin Jasim’s statement.
Brigadier Kamran from Military Intelligence (MI) and Irfan Naeem Mangi from the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) arrived in Doha to record the prince’s statement.
Sources privy to the matter on Monday had informed The Express Tribune that Prince Jasim said he would be happy to welcome the Panamagate JIT members at his residence and would provide all the relevant details regarding his family’s business association with the Sharif family.
On June 22, the JIT had written a letter to the prince to appear before it at the Pakistan High Commission in Qatar and record his statement. It had strictly advised him not to bring his lawyer and accountant with him during the investigation on June 29 or 30, 2017, whichever date suited him.
He had been directed to inform the JIT about suitability of the date before June 26. The Qatari prince was informed that he would not be given any questionnaire in advance rather he would have to answer the questions directly during the investigation.
A letter available with The Express Tribune revealed that the JIT had used a very strict language and the prince was treated like an accused person in a criminal case.
The JIT had used the word ‘investigation’ to be conducted regarding his letter presented before the Supreme Court (SC) instead of ‘interview’. It said that all the investigation proceedings would be recorded to ensure accuracy for transcript purposes.
