Islamabad (October 9, 2017): NAB team has arrested Captain (retd) Safdar from Islamabad Airport he earlier arrived alongwith his wife Marium Nawaz through Private airline from London to appear before the NAB court on Monday.
The six-member NAB team waited outside Rawal lounge for the arrest of Capt (retd) Safdar, as the airport staff stopped them from entering the lounge. Safdar’s arrest came minutes after Maryam Nawaz departed for home alone.
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A number of PML-N leaders including Asif Kirmani, Marriyum Aurangzeb and Tariq Fazal Chaudhry were present at the airport.
Scores of PML-N workers gathered outside the airport, who have been protesting against the arrest of Captain (retd) Safdar. They have forced stop the vehicle in which Safdar is being taken to the NAB Rawalpindi office.
The workers seem adamant not to let the vehicle pass through, despite repeated calls by the party leaders present outside the airport.
Earlier in the day, Maryam Nawaz and Captain (retd) Safdar left for Pakistan to appear before the accountability court. Both have been summoned, along with Nawaz Sharif and sons, by the Islamabad Accountability Court on Monday.
Earlier Maryam said the so-called accountability process under way for the last year-and-a-half has been exposed as the world is aware now that this [corruption cases] is not for justice but for revenge.
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Responding to a question, she said her brothers Hussain and Hasan will present themselves before the court too, but did not specify a date for their appearance.
Maryam and Safdar face a corruption reference related to the Sharif family’s Avenfield properties in London.
Her brothers and father, however, face a total of three cases, including the Avenfield case, filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in an accountability court.
The other two references against them involve Azizia Steel Mills and offshore companies.
The references
The NAB has in total filed three references against the Sharif family and one against Finance Minister Ishaq Dar in the accountability court, in light of the Supreme Court’s orders in the Panama Papers case verdict of July 28.
The anti-graft body was given six weeks, from the date of the apex court’s order, to file the reference in an accountability court while the accountability court was granted six months to wrap up the proceedings.
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The references against the family pertain to the Azizia Steel Mills, their London properties and over dozen offshore companies.
NAB’s Rawalpindi branch prepared two references regarding the Azizia Steel Mills and Hill Metal Establishment, and the nearly dozen companies owned by the Sharif family.
Its Lahore branch prepared a reference on the Sharif family’s Avenfield apartments in London and another against Finance Minister Ishaq Dar for owning assets beyond his known sources of income.
If convicted, the accused may face up to 14 years imprisonment and lifelong disqualification from holding public office including the freezing of bank accounts and assets.
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