Fake documents related to London property submitted

ISLAMABAD: Joint Investigation Team (JIT) head Wajid Zia Monday informed the court that the team had reached the conclusion after receiving response of its mutual legal assistances (MLAs) from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that ‘the accused have submitted fake documents related to the Avenfield London property and their businesses."

Objecting over the contents of Zia’s statement before the Accountability Court of Islamabad, the defence lawyer Khawaja Haris said the JIT’s report could not be accepted under the ‘law of evidence’.

He said the JIT report was prepared over the questions raised by the Supreme Court (SC) during the Panama Papers case hearing. The apex court had directed the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in its July 28, 2017 judgment to file references against the Sharif family members based on the material collected by the JIT rather than its report.

Haris said that investigation reports could not be used as evidence as the higher courts had given several decisions in that regard.

Accountability Court Judge Muhammad Bashir conducted the hearing of Al-Azizia Steel Mills reference against the Sharif family members. Former prime minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law Capt (Retd) Muhammad Safdar appeared before the court.

Meanwhile, a prosecution witness Noreen Shehzadi, a bank officer, shared details of cheques of Sharif family members with the court. The court adjourned hearing of the case till Tuesday (tomorrow).