ISLAMABAD: Ousted premier Nawaz Sharif’s son-in-law Captain (r) MuhammadSafdar on Tuesday said he was a signatory of the trust deeds of offshorecompanies Nielsen and Nescoll while his wife Maryam Nawaz was a trustee.
Safdar was recording his testimony before the accountability court in theAvenfield reference under Section 342 of the Criminal Procedure Code(CrPC). He is named in the reference alongside Nawaz and Maryam, and hisbrothers-in-law, Hassan and Hussain Nawaz.
A day earlier, Maryam had also admitted to being a trustee of the offshorecompanies. However, she denied allegations that she was a beneficial ownerof Nielsen and Nescoll or other Avenfield properties.
“I am not and I have never been the beneficial owner of Nescoll, Nielsencompanies or the Avenfield properties, nor have I derived any financialbenefit from either company or the said property in any way whatsoever,”she had testified in court on Monday.
Safdar, his wife Maryam Nawaz and father-in-law Nawaz Sharif appearedbefore the court of accountability judge Muhammad Bashir. The father anddaughter left the court shortly after marking their attendance.
Both Maryam and Nawaz have already recorded their statements in thereference.
During his testimony, Safdar deflected several of the 66 questions he wasasked in court, claiming that they were not related to him.
The ex-PM’s son-in-law told the court that he was treated like a “prisonerof war” by the Panamagate joint investigation team (JIT).
When accountability judge inquired if Safdar was present at the time of aspeech delivered by Nawaz Sharif in the National Assembly last yearfollowing the release of the Panama Papers, the retired captain’s counselAmjad Pervaiz said that his presence was not mandatory.
Safdar added that he could not remember the contents of each and everyspeech delivered in the NA. “I can hardly recollect my own speeches,” hetold the court.
The hearing was adjourned until May 30. Safdar’s counsel assured the courtthat he would complete his testimony on Wednesday.
During the break in court proceedings, a journalist asked Safdar why noneof the members of Sharif family stayed back for his testimony. He replied:“It was my decision to not have any family member around while I record mystatement.”
When another journalist asked why his wife Maryam Nawaz left the court. Hesaid that he has spent the last 25 years of his life with Maryam. “MianSahab needs her more than I do.”