Sharif appears before Panama probe panel

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday appeared before a Supreme Court-appointed team probing the Panamagate graft case, becoming Pakistan's first sitting premier to depose before such a panel.

A seemingly-relaxed Sharif arrived at the Judicial Academy - which has been temporarily turned into the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) secretariat - amid tight security.

According to official sources, more than 2,500 security personnel have been deployed.

The 67-year-old PML-N leader, who was accompanied by his eldest son Hussain Nawaz, brother Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif and son-in-law Muhammad Safdar, waved at party workers and responded to their chants before entering the building.

The summons was issued to Sharif, 67, after he returned last Saturday from Kazakhstan where he had attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit. Sharif has denied any wrongdoing. AGENCIES