NBP president alleges JIT probing Panamagate case threatened him

Saeed Ahmad is a central character in the Hudabiya Paper Mills scam

ISLAMABAD: National Bank of Pakistan President Saeed Ahmad on Saturday submitted an application in the Supreme Court over alleged misconduct by the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) tasked with investigating the Sharif family’s offshore properties.

In a two-page letter, the National Bank president claimed that he was insulted, threatened and pressurised by JIT members during interrogation.

A six-member JIT recently started probing the Rs1.2 billion Hudabiya Paper Mills scam of money laundering against Sharif family and summoned Saeed Ahmad, who was also a central character in the scam, for questioning on May 27 this year. However, a letter was sent by Ahmad’s legal team on his behalf to the JIT members, requesting more time and more information so that the bank could make the best effort to search for all the relevant accounts held at NBP for all the related parties.



“This was not taken kindly by JIT and they brought this to the attention of the honourable judges hearing the matter, reinforcing the impression that I was deliberately trying to delay the matter,” the NBP president in his application to SC.



Upon receiving a second summon by the bench, Ahmad said he reached the judicial academy well in time. However, he was at the Federal Judicial Academy  for 12 hours of which was made to wait for the first five hours.  “I was at the Judicial Academy for 12 hours. The long wait during appearances and particularly the first five hours was very unnerving. I do realise that I was there for a criminal investigation as a witness but it seems I was being punished as a condemned person. It is bad enough to have such a long wait on an ordinary day but such an experience during the month of Ramazan was very testing,” the NBP president said in his application.

“During the investigation, I was insulted, threatened and subjected to undue pressure,” he continued. “I thought, I should bring to the kind notice of the honourable judges the treatment that I received to be put on record through your good offices.”



According to Dar’s confessional statement, a foreign currency account of Saeed Ahmad, former State Bank deputy governor and current president of the National Bank of Pakistan, was used to deposit huge funds to obtain direct and indirect credit lines.

Meanwhile, the JIT has probably finished questioning him, Hussain Nawaz, the prime minister’s elder son, said on Friday, expressing optimism that he would not be re-summoned.