The accountability court hearing corruption references against the Sharif family has decided to seek another extension from the apex court.
Accountability Judge Mohammad Bashir, while hearing Al-Azizia reference on Monday, remarked that he would write a letter to the SC requesting another extension.
The court had already sought extension twice from the Supreme Court. The court originally had a deadline of six months after the Panama case verdict, which ended in mid-March, but was extended for two months after the judge requested the apex court.
The SC, on top of the first extension, had added another month to the deadline last month on the request of the accountability court.
The last deadline given by the top court is set to expire on June 9.
As the hearing went underway, Accountability court’s Judge Muhammad Bashir directed the prosecution to submit final arguments in London flats case today (Tuesday) and adjourned the cross-examination of Panamagate Joint Investigation Team (JIT) head and prosecution’s key witness, Wajid Zia, in Al-Azizia reference against the Sharif family till June 11.
To this, Khawaja Harris, counsel for former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who has been cross examining Zia, requested the judge to hear arguments in all three references at once.
“Sixty percent of the arguments are the same in the three references,” Harris said.
“We will file a petition tomorrow against your written order to announce a combined judgement,” he added.
However, deputy prosecutor of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) remarked,
“We will conduct separate examinations on all three references.”
“The accused had not produced anything in his defence in the Avenfield reference,” he further said.
During the hearing, Zia remarked that the Share Sale Agreement 1980 of Gulf Steel Mills showed that Nawaz’s cousin Tariq Shafi and Muhammad Hussain were partners.
“However, Muhammad Hussain passed away before the agreement could be materialised,” he said, adding that there was also a letter with the agreement, which was signed by the legal heirs of Muhammad Hussain.
“Tariq Shafi had told JIT that Muhammad Hussain’s legal heirs were alive and that they had come to Lahore to meet him. We even asked Shafiq for the address of Hussain’s son Shehzad Hussain. However, we weren’t able to contact him,” Zia added.
The 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.
Published in Daily Times, June 5th 2018.
