The Accountability Court hearing corruption cases against the Sharif family on Tuesday directed key prosecution witness Wajid Zia to make a request to the Supreme Court for obtaining a sealed Volume-X of joint investigation team (JIT) report to get copies of the relevant mutual legal assistance (MLA) requests.
During the hearing of the Avenfield reference, defence counsel Khawaja Haris continued cross-examination of Zia. Haris questioned Zia, "Would you file an application to the Supreme Court to provide you the copy of Volume-X?" Zia replied in the affirmative. At this stage, Haris requested the court to direct the witness to file an application to obtain a copy of Volume-X so that he could reply about the relevant MLA requests.
The court directed the witness to request the Supreme Court to get the copies of relevant MLA requests in Volume-X. If allowed, the same should be brought for the purpose of cross-examination, the court's order stated.
Earlier, Zia said the record which he cannot produce is Volume-X of the JIT report. "I do not know whether or not the copies of Volume-X were handed over to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) after the cases were referred to anti-graft body for filing references against the Sharif family."
Replying to a question if he does not think that Volume-X was submitted in a sealed condition in the Supreme Court, Zia said, "We had verbally requested the Supreme Court to seal Volume-X and the Supreme Court had given an order in this regard." He added that the copy of the same order was not available with him.
"I did not observe when Volume-X was sealed," he said, adding that there were five copies of Volume-X which were submitted to the Supreme Court. At the outset of hearing, Haris informed Accountability Judge Mohammad Bashir that flight of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter was not allowed to take off from Lahore due to bad weather conditions. He also filed separate applications seeking exemption for Sharif and Maryam from attending the hearing on Tuesday.
The court approved the request but directed Nawaz Sharif's son-in-law Capitan Muhammad Safdar (retd) to remain in the court.
When the court resumed the hearing, the defence counsel posed various questions to Zia about the MLAs sent by the JIT to Central Authority, International Cooperation Department, Ministry of Justice, Dubai.
Zia replied that four out of seven MLAs were sent to Central Authority, International Cooperation Department, Ministry of Justice, Dubai, on a single date, while the rest were sent on different dates. Sharif's counsel asked Zia whether the JIT sent MLA requests to anyone else, besides the Ministry of Justice. To which Zia replied that the JIT did not send MLA requests to any other department. Upon this, Harris told Zia, "What if I tell you that you did send MLA requests pertaining to Tariq Shafi to someone else?"
On this, Zia said that he would have to confirm this information. When asked when he could do so, Zia replied that information is sealed in Volume-X of the JIT report.
The witness said that it is correct that the record pertaining to Dubai court system, Dubai customs and central bank was not annexed with the MLA. None of the members of the JIT went to Dubai to verify the signature of the judge who had signed this document, he said.
Zia said that the JIT did not investigate after receiving a response of share sale agreement as to when 25 percent shares of Ahli Steel Mill were sold, whereas the agreement dated April 14, 1980 was false.
"It is correct that as per the terms of share sale agreement of 1978, 25 percent shares of Tariq Shafi were intact," the witness said. Haris asked Zia, "Did you investigate what happened to the 25 percent shares of Tariq Shafi after the share sale agreement of 1978?" Zia replied that the remaining 25 percent shares of Ahli Steel Mills, erstwhile Gulf Steel Mill, belonging to the Sharif family, were ostensibly sold between 1978 and 1986 and were used for clearing the remaining liabilities of AED14 million and investing in a new business in Dubai owned by Muhammad Sharif and operated by Tariq Shafi from 1980 to 1981 and then in 1984. Tariq Shafi had defaulted on the loans obtained by him for this business, he said.
When defence counsel asked the witness, "Do you have any document regarding the sale of 25 percent shares of Ahli Steel Mill between the years 1978 to 1986?" Zia replied that the JIT did not have any document to conclusively prove that these shares were sold between 1978 and 1986 as the only document that was related to the sale of 25 percent shares was an agreement dated April 14, 1980 which turned fake therefore he used the word 'ostensibly.'
Zia said that the JIT did not collect any direct evidence of the sale of 25 percent shares of Ahli Steel Mill between 1978 and 1986. However, Tariq Shafi operated another account from 1986 to 1987 with BCCI which clearly shows that liabilities of Ahli Steel Mill were cleared during this period through ostensible sale of 25 percent shares. As no bank opens new account without clearing the defaulted amount, he added.
To a question, Zia said that the JIT did not collect bank record to show that amount was deposited in the bank by Tariq Shafi to settle any outstanding liability after the sale of 25 percent shares.