Daily Times

LAHORE: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Chaudhry Saqib Nisar on Sunday ordered the accountability court to give its verdict in all three reference cases against the former premier Nawaz Sharif and his family within a month.

A two-member bench presided by the CJP heard a petition today which sought another extension for ending the trials against former premier Nawaz Sharif and his family in the corruption references filed by the National Accountability Burau (NAB) after the apex court’s verdict in the infamous Panama case.

During the hearing, while rejecting the six weeks extension plea by Nawaz’s council Khawaja Haris, the CJP directed the accountability court to complete the cases against Nawaz, his sons, his daughter and his son-in-law within a month.

Justice Saqib also remarked that during the trial, Nawaz could visit his ailing wife in London if he wished.

After the Panama Papers verdict in July 2017, the SC had given a deadline of six months to finish corruption references. The first deadline ended in mid-March.

The deadline was then extended by two months after the judge in the accountability court requested the apex court to extend the deadline.

Earlier, the trial court submitted a second plea for extending the deadline. The application was approved by the SC which ordered both sides to complete the corruption cases by June 9.

On June 4 the accountability court judge, while hearing the Al-Azizia reference, had said that he would request another extension to wrap up corruption references against the Sharif family.

The references filed against the Sharif family pertain to Al-Azizia Steel Mills and Hill Metal Establishment, offshore companies including Flagship Investment Ltd, and the Avenfield properties of London.