Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The accountability court hearing corruption references against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his family on Wednesday ruled that Panama Papers joint investigation team head Wajid Zia will record his statement in the Avenfield properties case.

The deposed prime minister on March 20 had filed a petition to seek clarity on what all can be submitted by Zia in the court. The court noted that the defence lawyer could raise objections as was his right, however a decision on those objections would be made later.

Earlier, Zia, a serving additional director of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) who headed the JIT which probed the Sharif family’s assets last year on the Supreme Court’s orders, resumed recording his statement and submitted several documents that are part of the inquiry report.

Nawaz’s counsel objected to several of the documents submitted by Zia and sought clarity on what all Zia can present in the court. The counsel claimed the Zia cannot submit certain sections of the JIT report as they are either irrelevant to the case or contain analysis and opinion.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had filed three interim corruption references against the Sharif family in September last year in light of the Supreme Court’s July 28 verdict in the Panama Papers case. The bureau recently filed supplementary references in all three cases as well.

The former JIT head has been recording his statement in the case since the last three hearings. He has also submitted in court several key documents that the JIT acquired during its probe into the Sharif family’s assets.

Published in Daily Times, March 22^nd 2018.