Islamabad (July 06, 2018): Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was sentenced to 10 years in prison and slapped a £8 million fine on Friday, while his daughter Maryam was sentenced to seven years with a £2 million fine in the Avenfield properties reference.
Accountability Court-I Judge Mohammad Bashir announced the sentence today after several delays since morning.
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Posted by Abbtakk on Friday, July 6, 2018
Nawaz’s son-in-law Capt (retd) Safdar was given a one year sentence.
Moreover, Nawaz was fined £8 million and Maryam £2 million.
After setting three deadlines — 3pm, 2:30pm and 12:30pm — the court said it would announce the verdict at 3:30pm.
However, the judge called lawyers of both sides inside his chambers and disallowed the media.
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He then stated that the media will be called in when the judgment is being read out.
Earlier the judgement was delayed thrice and it was said every time that the decision would be announced at 3.30pm
According to the details, the decision was being delayed due to the printing of 400 copies of the judgement. The Court said to announced its verdict at 3.00pm earlier.
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Posted by Abbtakk on Friday, July 6, 2018
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Accountability Court earlier today rejected plea of Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz seeking delay in the verdict of the Avenfield Reference.
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Posted by Abbtakk on Thursday, July 5, 2018
Accountability Court reserved the verdict over plea to delay verdict of Avenfield Reference and had reserved the decision for an hour.
Judge Muhammad Bashir heard the case, in which he reserved his verdict on the plea of Nawaz Sharif requesting the trial court to postpone the verdict. After hearing arguments from both the side.
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After submitting Begum Kulsoom Nawaz’s medical report, Maryam’s counsel Amjad Pervez argued that the law stipulates the presence of the accused when the verdict is read out.
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After the prosecution opposed any delay at such a late stage of the trial, the judge reserved his verdict and adjourned the hearing.
Nawaz and Maryam have been in London since June 14 tending to Nawaz’s wife Kulsoom, who is under medical treatment there.
Earlier Former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif on Thursday submitted a plea in the accountability court requesting to defer verdict in Avenfield reference for few days citing Kulsoom Nawaz’s critical health, he made a request through a press conference in London to delay the decision for few more days.
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The decision in the Avenfield Reference was reserved on June 03, after the counsel of Maryam Nawaz, Amjad Pervez Malik completed his arguments in Avenfield Reference case.
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Avenfield Ref. Verdict: Security of Judicial Complex Beefed Up:
Earlier, strict and special security arrangements were made for judicial complex because of the expected anti-nawaz verdict in the Avenfield Reference.
According to the sources, heavy police contingency comprises of 241 police personnel were deployed inside the judicial complex, while all kind of sloganeering is banned in limits of the judicial complex.
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Sources said that 200 police personnel were also deployed around the judicial complex, while 40 personnel of special Branch were deployed in and outside the complex.
Earlier Former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif on Thursday submitted a plea in the accountability court requesting to defer verdict in Avenfield reference for few days citing Kulsoom Nawaz’s critical health. On Wednesday, he made a request through a press conference in London to delay the decision for a few more days.
On the other hand, the PML-N spokesperson Maryam Aurangzeb said that Nawaz’s demand to delay the court verdict of July 6 is legal so the accountability court is requested to announce the verdict on July 25.
The courts are symbol of justice therefore, a legal plea should be considered, she said.
I’m A Politician, Won’t Run Away From Courts: Nawaz Sharif
Earlier, while talking to media in London on Wednesday, Nawaz Sharif requested court to postpone verdict citing Kulsoom s health.
Addressing crucial press conference in London, Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said that I want to hear the judgement in the case while standing in the courtroom. I am political leader of my nation and I will stand by with them in any circumstances.
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Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif said that he is not a dictator who will run away from the courts.
“My wife has been on a ventilator since last 21 days,” adding, “I want to hear avenfield reference verdict in the court room.”
Nawaz said that he is facing one-sided investigations from July 2017 but the nation is standing with him. He announced to return as soon as Kulsoom Nawaz’s health improves.
The PML-N leader said that his wife underwent an operation yesterday, adding that he wants to speak to his wife before going to Pakistan.
The nation supports my respect for vote stance,” he said. Nawaz requested the courts to delay the verdict for few days.
The former prime minister said that the nation’s decision on July 25 will change the destiny of the country.
“The entire nation is aware of one-sided actions against me,” he said.
The ex-prime minister said he wants to hear the judgement in the case while standing in the courtroom where “I have endured more than 100 hearings with my daughter Maryam [Nawaz]”.
Sharif said Pakistan has had a history of verdicts remaining “unnecessarily”.
Talking to reporters in London, Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) leader Maryam Nawaz on Wednesday stated that she is ready to face imprisonment as price of the path she has taken.
Outspoken Maryam Nawaz—often pinned as Nawaz Sharif’s political heir-apparent—whole world is witnessing the injustice to which Sharif family is being subjected.
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“We have appeared in over 100 hearings and will return to Pakistan before general elections 2018 for sure”, asserted Maryam while regretting biased trial of Panama Papers case.
On Kusloom’s health, Maryam informed reporters that Kulsoom Nawaz underwent an extensive surgery and it was expected that she would soon gain conscious.
Nawaz and his family are facing three corruption cases in the accountability court after the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) filed references against them in light of the Supreme Court’s verdict in the Panama Papers case last year.
The trial
After the Supreme Court disqualified Nawaz in the Panama Papers case on July 28, 2017, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), in light of the verdict, filed three corruption references against the Sharif family in the accountability court.
The trial against the Sharif family commenced on September 14, 2017, under the supervision of Supreme Court Justice Ijazul Ahsan, who was appointed a monitoring judge in the Panama case verdict.
During the course of the trial, spread over 107 hearings, a total of 18 prosecution witnesses recorded their statements, including the Panama case joint investigation team (JIT) head, Federal Investigation Agency’s Wajid Zia.
It was the Zia-led JIT’s report which the Supreme Court used last year as a basis for Nawaz’s disqualification and further investigation of the Sharif family’s assets.
After his statement was recorded, the defence counsels cross-examined Zia for around two weeks.
The prosecution also recorded statements of two witnesses through video-link from London — private solicitor Akhtar Raja and forensic expert Robert Radley — whose expertise was utilised by the JIT during its probe.
Nawaz and the other accused were asked 127 questions during their cross-examination, while no witnesses appeared in their defence.
Nawaz and Maryam attended 78 hearings, as they often visited London in between to spend time with Begum Kulsoom Nawaz.
Safdar, however, attended nearly all the proceedings.
The apex court had directed the trial court to conclude the cases in six months. However, the court has only concluded proceedings of the Avenfield reference despite two deadline extensions — the latest one being July 10.
The other two corruption references — Al-Azizia Steel Mills and Hill Metal Establishment and offshore companies including Flagship Investment Limited — have yet to conclude.
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