ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad Accountability Court on Wednesday summoned former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his sons Hussain and Hasan Nawaz on September 19.
The summons have been issued on the basis of a reference against Nawaz Sharif and his family regarding ownership of offshore companies that was filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). The NAB had filed three references against the Sharif family and one against Finance Minister Ishaq Dar in the court in light of the Supreme Court’s directives in the Panama Papers verdict of July 28.
Moreover, on Wednesday NAB resubmitted the reference in the accountability court after the registrar had raised objections over technical errors present in the reference. The remaining three references are being fixed by the NAB and will be resubmitted to the court soon, according to sources.
After the submission of the reference regarding flagship companies, the registrar had sent for hearing the reference to the court of Judge Mohammad Bashir.
The bureau was given six weeks, from the date of the court’s order, to file the reference in an accountability court while the court was granted six months to wrap up the proceedings. The NAB’s Rawalpindi branch prepared references regarding the Azizia Steel Mills and the nearly dozen companies owned by the Sharif family.
The bureau’s Lahore branch prepared a reference on the Sharif family’s Avenfield apartments in London and another against Dar for owning assets beyond his known sources of income. If convicted, the accused can face up to 14 years imprisonment and lifelong disqualification from holding public office including the freezing of bank accounts and assets.
Published in Daily Times, September 14th 2017.
