ISLAMABAD: The federal government has appointed former Supreme Court judge Azmat Saeed Sheikh as head of the inquiry committee to probe the issue of UK-based asset recovery firm Broadsheet LLC.

This was said by federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Shibli Faraz through his social media account on Twitter on Thursday.

The federal cabinet in its meeting on Jan 19 had decided to form a new inquiry committee on the recommendation of an inter-ministerial committee that had earlier been constituted by Prime Minister Imran Khan to look into the Broadsheet saga.

Speaking at a news conference after the meeting of the federal cabinet, the information minister had said the government had formed an inquiry committee to be headed by a former judge of the Supreme Court or high court with the task to investigate in 45 days the “fresh revelations” in a verdict of a British court in the Broadsheet case and fix the responsibility on those Pakistanis who, according to the firm, had illegally benefited themselves and laundered money to off-shore banks.

“The Broadsheet verdict was based on facts about the corruption stories of previous rulers. It contained the details of corruption of loot and plunder committed before 2000, but another inquiry is required to look into the wrongdoings done after 2000”, Mr Faraz had said.

He had said it was not the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government that had unearthed the hidden properties of the Sharif family but Broadsheet, an impartial asset recovery firm that had no grudge against the Sharifs.

The minister said the government was only interested in bringing back the looted and plundered money stashed abroad, and it would take action against the corrupt.

Published in Dawn, January 22nd, 2021