Islamabad (August 30, 2018): Accountability court on Thursday has ordered to present relevant part of Panama Joint Investigation Team (JIT) report’s Volume 10 over National Accountability Bureau (NAB) prosecutor and Wajid Zia’s request.
During the hearing of Al-Azizia Steel Mills and Flagship Investments references headed by Justice Malik Mohammad Arshad, ex-prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s lawyer Khawaja Harris continued cross-examination of Wajid Zia.
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As the hearing went under way, Nawaz’s counsel Khawaja Harris questioned Panamagate Joint Investigation Team (JIT) head and prosecution’s star witness Wajid Zia.
However, Zia refrained from answering questions pertaining to corrections in the census. “Harris Sb is asking technical questions which I can only answer based on my general knowledge so there can be mistakes,” the prosecution’s star witness told the court.
Following this, Nawaz’s counsel asked Zia whether the JIT sought a financial statement from Saudi authorities of audited accounts of Hill Metals Establishment.
Earlier on August 29, National Accountability Bureau (NAB) prosecutor told the court that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif received 88 per cent profit of Hill Metal Establishment (HME).
Accountability court II Judge Mohammad Arshad Malik resumed hearing of the two remaining corruption references, after Tuesday’s session.
During the hearing, Sharif’s lawyer, Khawaja Haris, cross-examined Wajid Zia and posed questions about the cash flow and net profit of HME. The two, once again, exchanged heated verbal blows.
Khawaja remarked that Zia was grilled because of his dishonesty. These provoking remarks from Nawaz’s counsel angered NAB’s deputy prosecutor, Sardar Muzaffar Abbasi, who raised objections over the use of inappropriate terms.
Judge Malik too raised the objection over Khawaja’s tactics of repeatedly asking the same question from Zia and barred Nawaz’s counsel from going into technicalities and asked him not to divert attention from the case.
The judge also instructed Wajid Zia to avoid any unnecessary details during the discussions, to which Zia replied that in English language, even a comma matters.
Earlier, the Supreme Court of Pakistan extended time deadline for 6 weeks to wrap-up corruption references against Sharif family.
Earlier on August 20, NAB Court ordered to announce a joint verdict in the two remaining corruption references against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his family.
The former premier appeared before accountability court II as Judge Arshad Malik resumed hearing the Al-Azizia and Flagship Investment references.
During the hearing, Nawaz’s counsel Khawaja Harris appealed to Judge Arshad Malik to announce a joint verdict in the two remaining referenced filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) against the Sharif family.
“Accountability court I had also decided on a joint verdict in the three references. However, it only announced its verdict in the Avenfield reference,” Harris said.
“The other two cases were then transferred as verdict on one of them came separately,” Nawaz’s counsel upheld.
Background
The trial against the Sharif family commenced on September 14, 2017.
On July 6, after four extensions in the original six-month deadline to conclude all three cases, the court announced its verdict in the Avenfield reference.
Nawaz and his sons, Hussain and Hasan, are accused in all three references whereas Maryam and Safdar were accused in the Avenfield reference only.
The two brothers, based abroad, have been absconding since the proceedings began last year and were declared proclaimed offenders by the court.
On July 10, the Supreme Court granted another six-week extension for Accountability Court-I Judge Mohammad Bashir to conclude the remaining corruption references against Nawaz and former finance minister Ishaq Dar.
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