Accountability court reserves verdict in Al-Azizia, Flagship references

The accountability court reserved on Wednesday its verdict against the Sharif family who have been accused of corruption in offshore properties.

During the hearing today, accountability court Judge Arshad Malik reserved his judgment in the two remaining corruption references, Al-Azizia and Flagship filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) against deposed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his family. The verdict will be announced on December 24.

On Tuesday, NAB Prosecutor Asghar Awan has presented his final arguments in the cases and said that the Sharif family has failed to justify the sources through which they set up the offshore companies.

On December 7, the Supreme Court had given the accountability court its last extension in the deadline to wrap up the cases against the Sharif family. The top court had given the court time till December 24 to announce its verdict regarding the corruption cases.

Nawaz, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law Captain (retd) Safdar have already been convicted in the Avenfield reference case. They were awarded 10, seven and 1 year of jail sentences respectively. However, after being in prison for a couple of months, they were released after the Islamabad High Court suspended their jail sentences.