Nawaz Sharif illegally allotted Pakpattan land, JIT tells Supreme Court

The Joint Investigation Team (JIT), which has been formed to initiate a probe in Pakpattan shrine case, has found ex-prime minister Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif responsible of illegally allotting the land to an individual.

The Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Saqib Nisar took up the 30-year-old case on Tuesday. During the hearing, the Supreme Court (SC) bench was presented the report by the JIT, which holds Sharif responsible for illegally allotting Dewan Ghulam Qutab the 1,800 kanal land of Auqaf around Pakpattan shrine in 1985, when he chief minister of Punjab at the time.

JIT head Hussain Asghar told the SC that two inquiry reports were issued regarding this case. He added that a report submitted in 2015 contained Sharif's name while the report of 2016 did not have the ex-premier's name, local media reported. The CJP warned that if the case is forwarded to National Accountability Bureau no one involved in the case will be able to save themselves.

Giving two week's time to the Punjab Government and Sharif, the chief justice has sought their replies.

In the previous hearing, Sharif had appeared after the CJP summoned him. During the hearing, the chief justice inquired Sharif to explain his position in the case. The ex-PM replied that the Pakpattan case was over 30 years old and he could neither recall anything nor found any records relating to it.