Nawaz, Maryam fail to appear before court for Avenfield case hearing

The deposed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz failed to appear before the accountability court on Monday for Avenfield case hearing.

Once the hearing resumed in the morning, the deposed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz were exempted from the court proceedings as they were not present at the court, local media reported.

They were unable to attend the court proceedings due to the bad weather, due to which the duo were unable to depart for Islamabad. However, Sharif's son-in-law Captain (retd) Safdar was present for the hearing.

Amjad Pervez, counsel for Maryam, resumed the cross-examination of Zia, who had headed the Joint Investigation Team probing into the offshore companies of the Sharif family. Last week, Khawaja Haris, counsel for Nawaz, questioned Zia and completed his examination, after which Pervez started questioning Zia.

The National Accountability Bureau has filed three cases against the Sharif family. The family has been accused in Flagship Investment Ltd. Al-Azizia Steel Mills and Avenfield properties of London.