ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif chaired a high-level consultative session prior to his departure for the Federal Judicial Academy where he was questioned by the Panama case Joint Investigation Team (JIT).
Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan attended the meeting.
Dar briefed the premier over the documents he will be taking along with him.
Sources said that the Prime Minister held consultations with the top aides on political situation in the country and his appearance before the JIT. He said he believes in supremacy of the constitution and the law and that is why he is appearing before the JIT to fulfil legal requirements.
Nawaz Sharif expressed the confidence that like in the past, he would come out of the inquiry with head high.
The JIT is probing the premier’s family’s global money trail in light of the Supreme Court’s April 20 judgment in the Panama Papers case.
Extraordinary security arrangements had been put in place in and around the academy, where the JIT secretariat is based.
The Islamabad Police, along with Rangers and other law enforcement personnel, had drawn up a special security and traffic plan for the premier’s visit. Barbed wire were put in place about five hundred metres from the academy to deal with any untoward situation.
A total of 2,668 security personnel, including 400 from the FC and 180 from the Punjab Rangers, were deployed for the event. A security cordon was put in place around the building, with special entry for the media only.
Additional deployments were made at the entry points of Islamabad where checking was increased.
The Islamabad Traffic Police implemented a special traffic plan, and personnel were deployed to guide the traffic.
A bullet-proof dais was erected in front of the academy, where the premier was expected to address the media.
INP