Shahbaz Sharif says biased JIT targetting his family

Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Saturday took on the Joint Investigation Team (JIT), saying it was pursuing a Panamagate case filed against the Sharif family in a biased manner.

"This is a case against our family, it is a means to destabilise our family, just like the attempts made by others in the past. This is not the first time that the Sharif family has been put to trial. People should not forget the time when our family's Ittifaq Foundries was taken from us by force," the Dawn quoted Shahbaz Sharif, as saying during an interaction with the media after his appearance before the JIT.

He said that he was asked to appear before the JIT because he was seen as somebody "acquainted with the facts of Panamagate."

"I did not go away to London, never to return, like other politicians. Whatever questions the JIT asked, I answered them to the best of my knowledge," he added.

Shahbaz Sharif is the fourth member of the Sharif family to present himself before the JIT. He was accompanied by his son Hamza Shahbaz, Interior Minister Chaudhary Nisar and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar.

Shahbaz Sharif is one of the directors of Hudaibya Paper Mills, and the JIT is reported to be keen to cross-check with him the information it has so far gathered regarding the Hudaibya reference as well as old litigation between the Paper Mills and Al-Tawfeeq Investment Co.