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Nawaz Appears Before Accountability Court

Islamabad (November 08, 2017): Former prime minister and PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif appeared before the accountability court hearing NAB reference against him as the court resumed proceedings.

Nawaz accompanied by his daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law Capt (Retd) Safder reached the accountability court. After Nawaz’s counsel Khawaja Harris and NAB prosecutors reached the court, the judge resumed proceedings.

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On Tuesday, the court had reserved its decision on Nawaz’s plea seeking the clubbing of three references into one. The curt is expected to announce the reserved verdict first.NAB has filed the three references against Nawaz and his family members and one against Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on the directives of Supreme Court of Pakistan give in the Panama Case verdict on July 28, 2017.

The PML-N Chief, who stayed overnight in Muree, reached Islamabad from the hilly station for attending the court hearing. A large numbers of PML-N leaders including federal ministers are also present in the judicial complex to show solidarity with the party chief.

It is to be mentioned here that yesterday Maryam and Safdar had filed an application seeking a change their indictment on the grounds that their charge-sheet mentions submission of a “false” document [wherein the Calibri font was used].

The application pleads that the document cannot be considered false as the Supreme Court, in the Panama case judgment, had directed the lower court to first establish whether false documents were submitted and then take appropriate action.

The court will also hear the fresh papplication today.

Yesterday while arguing for the consolidation of the three corruption references, Nawaz counsel Khawaja Haris read out the charge-sheets from the corruption cases. He said the charges levelled against the Sharifs were common in all three references.

The counsel said that nine and 13 witnesses have been named in the Flagship Investment Ltd reference and Al-Azizia Steel Mills reference, respectively. Six witnesses are common in both references and three are common with those of Avenfield flats reference, he observed.If the same witness is allowed to testify in multiple references, he or she will get time to prepare as they would know what questions the defence counsel is likely to ask and they might alter their statement accordingly, he argued.

Haris pleaded that while three references could remain, a single trial should be held against the accused. If they are found guilty after trial of the central reference, one sentence should be announced.

He said the court had the authority to continue with the proceedings after merging the references, adding that under the law, an accused could not be punished for a crime multiple times.

When the court resumed the hearing after the break, NAB prosecutor started his arguments. He opposed Nawaz application seeking to club the references together. He pointed out that IHC did not order the court to club together the references rather asked to re-hear the application.Sharif had arrived in the country from London to appear before the accountability court last Friday.

However, the hearing against Sharif, his daughter and son-in-law had adjourned after an order passed the previous day by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) regarding the clubbing of three references against the Sharif family could not be procured by the court in time.At the outset of the proceedings on Friday, Judge Mohammad Bashir said he had read in a newspaper that the IHC had ordered clubbing of three corruption references.

At this, NAB deputy prosecutor general Sardar Muzaffar Abbasi said the IHC had not passed such an order, but remanded the matter to the accountability court again.

After receiving the IHC short order issued on Nawaz Sharif’s petitions seeking a joint trial of all the three references, the judge then read out the order sheet, according to which the accountability court was asked to examine the matter in the light of Section 17-D.The section reads: “A person accused of more offenses than one of the same kind…may be charged with and tried at one trial for any number of such offenses.”

Haris, the counsel for Sharif, argued that in case the references were clubbed together, the court would need to indict Sharif, Maryam and Safdar again.

It is to be mentioned here that a five-member bench of the Supreme Court on July 28 had directed NAB to file references against Nawaz and his children in six weeks in the accountability court and directed the trial court to decide the references within six months.

The Supreme Court also assigned Justice Ijazul Ahsan a supervisory role to monitor the progress of the accountability court proceedings.NAB had filed three references on Sept 8 against Sharif and his family, and another reference against Finance Minister Ishaq Dar. The three references against the Sharif family are related to the Flagship Investment Ltd, the Avenfield (London) properties and Jeddah-based Al-Azizia Company and Hill Metal Establishment.

The former premier and his sons, Hassan and Hussain, have been named in all three NAB references, while Maryam and husband Safdar have been named only in the Avenfield reference.

Related News:

Nawaz Petition To Club References: Verdict Expected Today