Accountability Court issued bailable arrest warrants of former PM in two cases of alleged corruption
The Court of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) of Pakistan has issued bailable arrest warrants of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in two corruption cases.
Accountability Court issued bailable arrest warrants for the Flagship Investment, Al-Azizia Steel Mills and Hill Metal Establishment case in Islamabad court.
NAB Court has started trial of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and her husband Captain (retd) Safdar in corruption references filed in light of Supreme Court Panama Case hearing.
Meanwhile, the former prime minister Nawaz Sharif is in London to look after his wife Kalsoom Nawaz whose cancer treatment undergoing there.
As the hearing started today, Nawaz Sharif’s lawyer Khawaja Haris filed an application of his client seeking exemption from personal appearance in the court for seven days.
NAB court first reserved its decision on the plea, and later announced to dismiss Sharif’s plea. The court issued bailable arrest warrants for him before adjourning the hearing till Nov 3.
Maryam Nawaz Sharif – daughter of former PM criticized the decision claimed that proofs against Sharif family are not being searched but being prepared and she termed it as conspiracy against Nawaz Sharif.
Moreover, the Sharif family members have been directed to submit surety bonds worth Rs1 million each. PML-N leaders Talal Chaudhry, Pervaiz Rashid, Asif Kirmani and Tariq Fazal Chaudhry accompanied Maryam Nawaz and Cap.(Retd)Safdar in the court.
It also barred him from holding political office, effectively taking him out of the running ahead of general elections due to be held by the end of 2018. But as the legal pressure builds cracks are beginning to appear in their unity, with some members calling for his younger brother Shahbaz, chief minister of the Sharif family’s powerbase of Punjab province, to take control of the party.
Before in Panama Case, a five-member bench of the Supreme Court on July 28 had directed NAB to file references against Nawaz and his children in six weeks in the accountability court and directed the trial court to decide the references within six months.
The Supreme Court also assigned Justice Ijazul Ahsan a supervisory role to monitor the progress of the accountability court proceedings.
The former premier and his sons, Hassan and Hussain, have been named in all three NAB references, while Maryam and husband Safdar have been named only in the Avenfield reference.