Sharif family files applications to accountability court

The accountability court resumed on Wednesday hearing against the deposed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and Captain (retd) Safdar, regarding three corruption cases filed against them by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

Judge Muhammad Bashir will be hearing NAB’s witnesses, Sidra Mansoor, who is an official of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan and Jahangir Ahmad, an official of the Federal Board of Revenue statements.

During the hearing, Mansoor testified that she had provided NAB with the 2000-2005 audit report of Hudaibiya Paper Mills. “The documents have my signature and thumb print on them,” she added.

Khawaja Haris and Amjad Pervez, counsels of Nawaz and his children, disagreed with her testimony. They said Mansoor had provided documents, which did not bear official seals and signatures of companies and were photocopies.

After Mansoor gave her statement, NAB’s second witness Ahmad presented the Sharif family's income tax returns to court.

During the court proceedings, Sharif submitted exemption request from November 20 trial due to the going medical treatment of his wife Kulsoom in London. "We have been together for 40 years, I can't abandon my wife in testing times," Sharif said in his application. His pleader, Zafir Khan, will appear on Sharif's behalf during his absence.

Maryam also submitted an exemption request saying that she will appear before the court whenever she is summoned. However, she added, if some emergency arises, her pleader Jahangir Jadoon will appear on her behalf. The court reserved its verdict regarding both the requests.

The Sharifs then exited the court, however, the hearing is currently under way.

Sharif, along with Maryam and son-in-law Safdar, arrived at the accountability court on Wednesday morning where a number of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz activists and federal ministers were gathered to show their support.

Nawaz Sharif challenges verdict of the accountability court

The court started the trial even though the Islamabad High Court had accepted on Tuesday Sharif’s application, in which he had challenged accountability court’s refusal to club all three references into one. The high court had then fixed November 20 as the next date for the next hearing.

During the previous hearing on November 8, Judge Bashir listened to arguments from both defense and prosecution counsels. Later, he rejected Sharif’s plea to club all three references into one and indicted Sharif separately in each of the three references. Sharif had pleaded not guilty in all the charges.