ISLAMABAD – The Islamabad High Court on Monday gave a blow to the Shariffamily over the reserved verdict.
IHC delayed the verdict it reserved on the appeals filed by the formerprime minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law Capt(retd) Safdar challenging the Avenfield reference verdict against them.
The court said, “At this stage we are not inclined to decide thesepetitions and they shall remain pending and fixed along with the appeals.In case there is a delay in deciding of the appeals then the petitionersshall be at liberty to press these petitions.”
On July 6, an accountability court had sentenced Nawaz to a total of 11years in prison and slapped a £8 million fine (Rs1.3 billion) in thecorruption reference while his daughter Maryam was sentenced to eight yearswith a £2 million fine (Rs335 million). Additionally, Nawaz’s son-in-lawCapt (retd) Safdar was given a one-year sentence without any fine.
The bench comprising Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Mian Gul MianHassan Aurangzeb heard the appeals of the Sharif family.
During the court proceedings, the National Accountability Bureau completedits final arguments after which the verdict was reserved.
The NAB prosecutor Sardar Muzaffar Abbasi remarked that the Avenfieldreference, pertaining to Sharif family’s properties in London, were filedupon the orders of the Supreme Court, adding that the investigation teamwas also formed following the instructions of the apex court.
“The London flats were in the name of Neilson and Nescoll, which we provedwere owned by Nawaz Sharif,” he said.