ISLAMABAD: Accountability court on Tuesday observed that the verdict of supplementary cases filed against former Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif and his family by National Accountability Bureau (NAB), will be announced altogether.
Accountability Judge Mohammad Bashir made the observation after resuming the hearing of Avenfield properties case today after prosecution’s last witness Imran Dogar concluded his testimony on Monday.
Nawaz Sharif, daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law Captain (r) Safdar were exempted from court appearance today.
During the hearing, the prosecution requested the court to record statement of the accused, which the defense counsel opposed.
Sharif’s lawyer Khawaja Haris presented the argument that the statement of key witness Wajid Zia should be recorded in the other two references as well. Haris requested the court to accept his appeal, questioning the judge if the court will only do what NAB says.
The court approved of Haris’s arguments and rejected the prosecution’s plea.
During the hearing, defense counsel brought it to the court’s attention that a three-month extension should be given by the Supreme Court (SC) for the completion of the trial.
Maryam Nawaz’s counsel Amjad Pervez further added that to ensure a transparent trial, the court should allow equal time to both the parties so that they can present their case. He added that the prosecution took eight months to record statements of eighteen witnesses. In response the judge stated that it was SC’s prerogative to decide the timeframe of the next deadline.
On the last hearing, prosecution witness had informed the court of NAB’s procedure of inquiries and investigations. He had also stated that he had no role in Panama Papers investigation.
Former Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif along with daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law Captain (r) Safdar were charged in Al-Azizia Steel Mills, Avenfield Properties and Flagship Investment Limited reference cases in September last year by NAB following the Panama Papers verdict.