Qatari prince promises meeting with JIT against immunity in latest letter

KARACHI: A new letter from the Qatari Prince Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabor al Thani was brought to light late Wednesday night in Geo News’ program Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Saath – this time marked with authentic state credentials.

In the letter – written on July 17, 2017 – obtained by Geo News, the Qatari Prince promises a meeting in Doha with the Panama Papers’ Joint Investigation Team (JIT) by the end of this week but on the condition of being provided immunity from any court-related matters and resulting investigation.

The prince also vows to verify in the meeting the authenticity of two prior letters sent to Pakistan with regard to the Panama Papers case. The letters in question were slammed as bogus by certain political leaders, who alleged that it only surfaced to help the incumbent Prime Minister escape money laundering charges.

 

The latest proposal for a meeting will only be applicable, according to the Qatari Prince’s letter, “once I obtain acknowledgement from [the Panama case JIT] that I am not subject to the Jurisdiction and the laws of Pakistan, and that [the Panama case JIT] confirm that I am not subject to any investigation or required to appear before any court of law or tribunal for any purpose whatsoever”.

As per the text of the letter, the prince also awaits a response in the context of the previous communication.

The letter is written on the letterhead of Qatar’s Ministry of Law and is ratified by Qatar’s Foreign Ministry. According to sources, it has reached the JIT and been submitted to the Supreme Court of Pakistan (SC) as well.