ISLAMABAD: Accountability court on Tuesday dismissed former Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif’s petition requesting for final arguments of all the reference cases to be heard together.
Judge Mohammad Bashir during the hearing dismissed the petition stating that “You may challenge this verdict in the high court”.
Judge Bashir ordered to resume cross-examination of former Panama Papers Joint Investigation Team (JIT) head Wajid Zia in Al-Azizia reference case.
In response Nawaz’s second counsel Saad Hashmi requested the court for a short break to discuss the matter with Khawaja Haris.
Earlier Hashmi had filed a petition stating that all the facts and witnesses in the three references are the same. Thus the final arguments should be postponed till Zia and other investigating officers record their statements in the other two references.
Earlier on Tuesday accountability court proceeded hearings to conclude arguments of prosecution star witness in Avenfield reference case against the Sharif family.
During the hearing earlier on Monday, the court had ordered National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Deputy Prosecutor General Sardar Muzaffar Abbasi to submit final arguments in Avenfield properties case on the same day while postponing the cross-examination of prosecution star witness Wajid Zia till June 11.
However, the defense counsel raised objections and announced to challenge the court’s decision pertaining to final arguments. Khawaja Haris argued that if verdict in one reference will be announced then the other two references should be transferred to another court.
Haris had questioned “How can you hear the remaining two cases if you announce the verdict in one case?”
He remarked that “it would’ve been better if all three references were heard together.”
In response NAB prosecutor had argued that the defense was misleading the court and engaging the court in delaying tactic.
During the hearing, accountability Judge Mohammad Bashir remarked that he would write a letter to the Supreme Court (SC) to request extension for the corruption trials.
Previously the SC had set the deadline for the trials to end in six months which was in between March 2018, however, the accountability court had requested for another two-month extension to end on June 9.
he anti-corruption watchdog had filed three corruption cases against the Sharif family in the light of the Supreme Court’s verdict in the Panama Papers case.
The trial against the Sharif family had commenced on September 14, 2017.
The corruption references, filed against the Sharifs, pertain to the Al-Azizia Steel Mills and Hill Metal Establishment, offshore companies including Flagship Investment Ltd, and Avenfield properties of London.
Nawaz and sons Hussain and Hasan are accused in all three references whereas his daughter Maryam and son-in-law Safdar are accused in the Avenfield reference only.