Avenfield, Al-Azizia, & Flagship references: AC suspends perpetual arrest warrants for Nawaz Sharif’s sons, grants them bail

ISLAMABAD: The Accountability Court, on Thursday, suspended the perpetual arrest warrants of Hassan and Hussain Nawaz, sons of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif issued in Avenfield, Al-Azizia, and Flagship references and granted them bail.

Accountability Court judge Nasir Javed Rana, hearing Hassan and Hussain’s plea, suspended their warrants and granted them bail after they surrendered before the court. Qazi Misbahul Hasan and Rana Irfan Advocate, Hassan and Hussain’s lawyers and National Accountability Bureau (NAB) prosecutor Sohail Arif appeared before the court.

At the start of the hearing, Qazi Misbahul Hasan’s associate told the court that Hassan and Hussain Nawaz’s lead counsel was busy in another court and he would appear by 12 noon. The judge said that the court had given relief to both the accused till today (Thursday). Both of them must surrender before the court today, he said.

After the break when the hearing resumed, Qazi Misbah told the court that a request was made to suspend the permanent warrant on the previous hearing. The court had suspended the arrest warrant till March 14. The accused have surrendered before the court, therefore, the arrest warrant issued against them be suspended, he further said.

Misbah said that there were three references and in all three cases they had filed applications.

The other accused including Nawaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz, and Captain Safdar (retd) were acquitted in Avenfield, their father was acquitted by the Islamabad High Court in Al-Azizia reference, and Nawaz Sharif was acquitted by the trial court in Flagship.

The court, after hearing the arguments, cancelled the arrest warrant for Hussain and Hassan Nawaz and approved their bail against a surety bond worth Rs50,000.

Meanwhile, both Hassan and Hussain filed acquittal applications through their counsel before the court. The judge said that the court would issue notice to the prosecution in this regard for today [Friday]. The court adjourned the hearing of the case till March 15.

Both sons of the former Prime Minister also applied for exemption from attending court on the next hearing.

The court adjourned the hearing till Friday. The court also ended the proclaimed offender status of both accused.

The same court seven years ago had declared Hassan and Hussain Nawaz as proclaimed offenders for not appearing before the court. The Accountability Court declared both the suspects on November 15, 2017, in Avenfield and Flagship references and in Al-Azizia reference on October 9, 2017.

After appearing before the court when he was asked after the Panama Papers leaks he had stated that he is not a Pakistani citizen and why he faces cases there, he said that he never stated this. He said that he was a Pakistani citizen, he did not have a passport of another country and he had only a Pakistani passport.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024