Panamagate: Pak SC orders JIT to probe charges against Nawaz Sharif

Nawaz Sharif narrowly survived being disqualified after a three-two split decision by SC bench

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday narrowly survived being disqualified after a three-two split decision by a Supreme Court bench which ordered to set up a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) within a week to probe the allegations of money laundering against his family.

The court also ordered Sharif and his two sons - Hasan and Hussain - to appear before the JIT, which would consist of officials from the Federal Investigation Agency, the National Accountability Bureau, the Security and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) and the Military Intelligence (MI).

The JIT will present its report before the bench after every two weeks.

The five-judge bench comprising Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, Justice Gulzar Ahmed, Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan, Justice Azmat Saeed and Justice Ijazul Ahsan issued the landmark judgement 57 days after concluding the hearing.

The case was launched on November 3 and the court held 35 hearings before concluding the proceedings on February 23.

The case is about alleged money laundering by Sharif in 1990s when he twice served as prime minister to purchase assets in London.

The assets surfaced when Panama papers last year showed that they were managed through offshore companies owned by Sharif's children.