ISLAMABAD: Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Additional Director and head of the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) that investigated the Panama Papers scandal, Wajid Zia is back in court today to record his statement in the Al Azizia reference against disqualified former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
Zia has already testified once before in the court in the Avenfield properties reference, and started his testimony in the present Al Azizia hearing yesterday (Thursday).
Nawaz Sharif, who earlier flew in to Islamabad from Lahore, is also present at the hearing.
In his testimony on Thursday, Zia restated before the court how he was appointed the JIT’s head, and how his ambit included determining the ownership of the ruling family’s assets.
Zia also highlighted how the JIT had sent Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) requests to authorities in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the former of which failed to respond.
Zia also mentioned in his statement the correspondence that occurred between the JIT and Qatari prince Hammad bin Jasim, a business partner of the Sharif family.
The hearings themselves pertain to the Supreme Court’s decision in the Panama Papers case to disqualify then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, and to initiate corruption proceedings against the PML-N leader and his family.
