Nawaz-Maryam plea for seven-day exemption rejected

The Accountability Court hearing corruption cases against the Sharif family members on Friday rejected plea of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz for a seven-day exemption from personal appearance before the court.
Sharif and Maryam filed the application through their counsel Amjad Pervez before Accountability Court Judge Muhammad Bashir, seeking a seven-day exemption to enable the accused to stay with Kulsoom Nawaz in London and settle all her medical affairs before returning back to Pakistan. The counsel also filed a medical report of Kulsoom Nawaz along with the application. Sharif along with his daughter departed for London on April 18 last.
Pervez told the court that Kulsoom Nawaz is suffering from cancer and has been undergoing prolonged treatment for almost a year, followed by extensive chemotherapy in London. In view of recurrence of cancer growth and deterioration of her health, Sharif and his family members need some time to consult with the doctors treating her to thoroughly discuss all available options for her treatment, he explained
He said that Kulsoom was shifted to hospital in a state of emergency on April 17. The accused will appear before the court whenever it summons them, he said, adding that the accused should be granted a seven-day exemption on humanitarian grounds.
While opposing the application, Deputy Prosecutor NAB Sardar Muzaffar Abbasi told the court that the accused have gone abroad without taking permission from the court.
During the previous hearing, the accused had informed the court about a one-day exemption but did not inform the court that they were going abroad, he said.
He said that the trial of the case is in final stage and the NAB has already recommended to the Ministry of Interior to place their names on Exit Control List (ECL). He also said that the presence of accused before the court is mandatory during the trial and requested the court to reject the application.
Prosecutor Afzal Qureshi said that no specific reason has been mentioned in the medical report which may force the accused to stay in London for several days.