Maryam, Safdar reach accountability court for corruption reference
ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's daughter Maryam Nawaz and her husband MNA Capt (retd) Safdar reached the the judicial complex separately for a hearing of the Avenfield properties case against the Sharif family.
Senior leaders of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), including cabinet members, are at the scene.
With strict security arrangements in place, police barred non-essential people, including lawyers, from entering the complex. This led to a scuffle with the police, which resulted in the injury of at least one lawyer.
The former prime minister has not appeared in court today as he is in London, along with his sons, to be with his wife who is undergoing treatment for lymphoma.
Maryam reached Islamabad from Lahore Thursday night and is residing at the residence of Chaudhry Muneer, her daughter's father-in-law, in Sector F-6.
At the last hearing, on October 9, the accountability court approved the bail of Maryam and Safdar after they appeared in court.
Judge Mohammad Bashir also approved the National Accountability Bureau's (NAB) plea to declare Nawaz's sons, Hasan and Hussain, proclaimed offenders and separated their proceedings in the three references filed against them. Their non-bailable arrest warrants, issued at the last hearing on October 2, remain in effect.
The court also approved Nawaz's counsel Khawaja Harris's request to approve his client's exemption from appearance for that date only.
The judge set October 13 (today) as the date on which Nawaz — regardless of his presence —, Maryam and Safdar will be indicted.
On Thursday, Capt (retd) Safdar challenged his indictment process in the Islamabad High Court but the plea was deemed non-maintainable.
The accountability court is hearing a total of three corruption cases against the Sharif family filed by NAB in light of the Supreme Court's judgment in the Panama Papers case.
At the last hearing, the court also approved Maryam and Safdar's bail in the Avenfiled properties case and ordered them to submit surety bonds worth Rs5 million each.
Safdar was also directed to take the court's permission before leaving the country from now on. The judge also provided a copy of the reference — spread over 53 volumes — to Maryam and Safdar.
The references
The NAB has in total filed three references against the Sharif family and one against Finance Minister Ishaq Dar in the accountability court, in light of the Supreme Court's orders in the Panama Papers case verdict of July 28.
The anti-graft body was given six weeks, from the date of the apex court's order, to file the reference in an accountability court while the accountability court was granted six months to wrap up the proceedings.
The references against the Sharif family pertain to the Azizia Steel Mills and Hill Metals Establishment, their London properties and over dozen offshore companies owned by the family.
NAB's Rawalpindi branch prepared two references regarding the Azizia Steel Mills and Hill Metals Establishment, and the nearly dozen companies owned by the Sharif family.
Its Lahore branch prepared a reference on the Sharif family's Avenfield apartments in London and another against Finance Minister Ishaq Dar for owning assets beyond his known sources of income.
If convicted, the accused may face up to 14 years imprisonment and lifelong disqualification from holding public office including the freezing of bank accounts and assets.
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