ISLAMABAD – Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif will appear in anaccountability court Monday which will mark the beginning of his trial inAl Azizia and Flagship references.
Monday will mark the PML-N supremo’s first appearance out of Adiala jailpremises in a month. Authorities have completed foolproof securityarrangements for the hearing in the federal judicial complex.
The accountability court on Thursday ordered officials concerned to produceNawaz Sharif before the court in corruption references filed by theNational Accountability Bureau (NAB).
During the hearing headed by Justice Mohammad Arshad Malik, NAB’s DeputyProsecutor General Sardar Muzaffar said that the Islamabad High Court (IHC)accepted Nawaz s plea to transfer the references.
The former premier is serving prison sentence in Avenfield reference whilehis sons Hassan and Hussain Nawaz have been declared absconders as they arenot appearing in the court, he added.
The deputy prosecutor general said that Nawaz was not presented before thecourt after his arrest due to security concerns.
Subsequently, the court also ordered Panama Joint Investigation Team (JIT)head Wajid Zia to attend the hearing on Monday.
Earlier, bench, hearing Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz andson-in-law Captain (retired) Safdar’s plea against their sentences inAvenfield reference, dissolved after Justice Shams Mahmood Mirza recusedhimself from the case.
Nawaz, Maryam and Safdar were convicted and sentenced to prison in absentiafor ten years, seven years and one year respectively, in Avenfield verdict.
Maryam Nawaz and Captain (r) Safdar, who had planned to contest therecently held election, were also disqualified from contesting polls for 10years each.
The sentence and a fine of 8 million pounds, or $10.6 million, came almosta year after Supreme Court removed Sharif from office and less than fivemonths after the court barred him from holding office for life.
Nawaz Sharif was convicted under section 9(a)(5) of the NAB ordinance.
The case stemmed from the Panama Papers leak that disclosed expensive andundeclared property owned by the Sharif family in London.