Islamabad June 23 (TNS): Former Interior Minister Rehman Malik will appear before the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) overseeing the financial assets of the Sharif family to record his statement on Friday.
Malik, a senior member of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) is expected to arrive at the Federal Judicial Academy at around 2:30 pm, where the JIT is headquartered.
Malik claims to have proof to substantiate his claims that the Sharif family used Huddabiyya Paper Mill to launder money from Pakistan, leading to the purchase of property by the prime minister and his sons.
Malik was the first Pakistani politician who had pointed out the Sharif family’s offshore companies while the Panama Papers were yet to be leaked to the media.
Malik also served as the Federal Investigation Agency as director-general.
Earlier Malik had excused himself from appearing before the JIT on June 13 as his spokesperson, Riaz Ali Turi, had then said that the senator was not currently in Pakistan. According to Turi, Senator Malik had requested the JIT for a new date to record his statement.
Interestingly, Malik’s name is among the over 200 Pakistanis exposed by Panama Papers for owning offshore holdings. However, he claims the real question is whether or not Pakistani laws have been violated and what should be the legal course against such people.
On April 21, 2016, Senator Rehman Malik released 11 questions for the people of Pakistan, the legal fraternity and the world, requesting intellectuals and media persons to generate a meaningful debate on the issue of Panama Leaks and had questioned the United Nations’ total silence on the violation of its own charter by its member states.
“The issue is not an ordinary one that could be ignored but we need to have a deep look into it using different parameters,” he had stated while releasing 11 questions on the Panama Papers.
