Govt. fails to convince Qatari prince to appear before JIT probing Sharif family

The federal government has failed to convince Qatari Prince Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al Thani to testify before the joint investigation team (JIT) probing into the offshore properties of Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's family.

Pakistan's former attorney general Salman Aslam Butt and former chief of the defunct Ehtesab Bureau Saifur Rehman had been tasked to convince the Qatari royal to visit Pakistan for recording his statement before the JIT, reports the Express Tribune.

However, both have failed to convince the prince, who had provided two letters to establish the money trail for the Sharif's London properties during the hearing of the Panamagate case before the Supreme Court.

The JIT had last month sent two letters to the Qatari prince, who in his reply stood by the statement given in his letters presented before the Supreme Court.

A senior lawyer, who was part of the Sharifs' legal team in the past, said no one could bind a foreigner to record a statement under the law. However, the top court has already asked the JIT to disregard the Qatari prince's letter if he does not appear in person before the panel.

"The respondents [Sharif family] will have to face consequences if the prince fails to appear before the JIT," the apex court's three-judge bench had recently observed.