Islamabad: The Pakistani Supreme Court (SC) on Friday constituted a six-member Joint Investigation Team (JIT) comprising civil and military officials to probe the money trail to assets abroad of the family of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif including expensive flats in London.

A three-judge SC special bench that is supervising the implementation of the April 20 verdict of the top court in the Panama leaks case formed the JIT.

Wajid Zia, an Additional Director at the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), will head the JIT, which includes Brigadier Kamran Khurshid from the Military Intelligence (MI); Amer Aziz from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP); Bilal Rasool, an executive director at the Securities Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP); Irfan Naeem Mangi, a Director at the National Accountability Bureau (NAB); and Brigadier Mohammad Nauman Saeed from the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

The Secretariat of the JIT will be housed in the building of the Federal Judicial Academy, Islamabad.

The SC ordered the federal government to provide the JIT with the necessary funds required to carry out the investigation, giving the JIT an initial amount of rupees twenty million.

“The JIT would also be at liberty to utilise the expertise available in their departments and any other department of the Federal or Provincial Governments as and when required by it,” the order stated.

The order also said that the JIT would have “the power to engage and associate local and foreign experts to facilitate the investigation and collection of evidence in line with the letter and spirit” of the SC order.

The JIT would have all the powers given by the law to carry out the investigation, including those available in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898, National Accountability Bureau Ordinance, 1999 and the Federal Investigation Agency Act, 1975, said the order.

“All the Executive Authorities throughout Pakistan shall act in aid of the JIT,” ordered the SC special bench.

“If and when any person fails or refuses to associate with or appear before the JIT or refuses to cooperate or provide oral or documentary information required by it, the same will be immediately brought to the notice of the Court for taking appropriate action,” the order stated.

The bench ordered the JIT to submit fortnightly progress reports, saying further proceedings would be held on May 22. Under the April 20 verdict the JIT is to complete the probe in 60 days and submit its report.

On Wednesday the bench had rejected the nominations by the State Bank of Pakistan and the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan.