Nawaz Sharif rejects JIT charge he hid UAE employment
PM submits response in Supreme Court, says Iqama shown in passport copy submitted with 2013 election nomination papers
July 23, 2017
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had declared his chairmanship of FZE Capital as well as his Iqama [employment contract] in the nomination papers he submitted prior to the last general elections.
This was stated in a 25-page reply submitted by the premier’s counsel to the apex court on Sunday.
The detailed response was submitted by the prime minister’s counsel, Khawaja Harris, in the chambers of the Supreme Court judges.
The reply states that Nawaz Sharif’s Iqama as well as his employment in UAE were shown in the copy of his passport which was attached to the nomination papers the premier submitted with the Election Commission of Pakistan in 2013. The premier’s counsel writes that as there was no separate column in the nomination papers, his employment and Iqama were not mentioned there directly.
It is also stated in the response that Nawaz Sharif is the chairman of FZE Capital, a Dubai-based company, but did not receive any salary for his work.
The reply also clarified that the premier was not the chairman of Chaudhry Sugar Mills, as stated in the Panama case Joint Investigation Team’s final report.
It reveals that the prime minister, however, was a shareholder in the company till June 2016.
The reply states further that the prime minister never attempted to conceal these facts, as declared by the JIT in its final probe report.
The seal of the Returning Officer for NA-120 constituency of Lahore is also stamped on the nomination papers, proving that they are verified by election officials. Nawaz Sharif had bagged the constituency in the last general elections.
The Supreme Court's special implementation bench reserved its verdict in the Panama Papers case on July 21.
