Avenfield properties reference: Court allows witnesses to record statement via video link

ISLAMABAD: Accountability Court Friday allowed to record statements of two witnesses of prosecution via video link in the supplementary reference against Sharif family regarding Avenfield Apartments.

On Friday, an Accountability Court Judge Muhammad Bashir allowed the National Accountability request to record statement of Robert W Radley, the Principal at the Radley Forensic Document Laboratory and Akhtar Raja, the Principal at the Quist Solicitors who were in London.

NAB’s Deputy Prosecutor General Sardar Muzaffar Abbasi pleaded that the witnesses could not come to Pakistan due to security reasons.

To this, bench remarked that over 200 million people were living peacefully in Pakistan however if they were willing to record their statement then court would allow them.

The court subsequently, ordered to make arrangements by installing devices in court for recording witnesses’ evidence of the witnesses.

Amjad Pervaiz counsel for the Sharif family objected and while citing the SC judgment said that statement could be recorded through a commission or a witness should be within the jurisdiction of the court.

After going through the arguments the judge reserved verdict for a few hours and later pronounced it.

It may added that one witness Radley had maintained that the type font used in trust deeds of two companies was Calibri which was not commercially available before January 31, 2007.