PHOTO: File
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) will file three references against Nawaz Sharif and his sons Hassan Nawaz and Hussain Nawaz, and one against Ishaq Dar, the federal minister for finance, in the Rawalpindi-Islamabad accountability courts on Friday (today), according to a statement issued on Thursday.
The references have been prepared in the light of the July 28 judgment of the Supreme Court in the Panamagate case. The top court had given the anti-graft watchdog until September 8 (today) to file the references.
NAB’s Executive Board gave the go-ahead for filing the references in its meeting presided over by the bureau’s chairman, Qamar Zaman Chaudhry. Legal and prosecution wings of NAB apprised the board of the details of the four references, according to the statement.
The board meeting was originally scheduled for Wednesday but had to be put off for a day because the NAB prosecutor-general was not available. On Thursday, the prosecutor-general attended the meeting that continued for almost two hours.
In its July 28 judgment, the apex court had directed the top graft buster to file references against Sharif, his sons, daughter Maryam Nawaz, son-in-law Capt (retd) Safdar and Ishaq Dar within six weeks. In pursuance of the verdict, NAB’s regional offices in Lahore and Rawalpindi prepared four references.
Cases against Sharifs: NAB likely to decide on references this week
The first reference against Sharif, Hassan, Hussain, Maryam and Capt (retd) Safdar pertains to Sharif’s Avenfield properties (flat numbers 16, 16-A, 17 and 17-A). The SC had directed NAB to take into consideration the evidence and material collected by the Joint Investigation Team (JIT), which probed into the Sharif family’s offshore assets, while preparing the reference.
Two more references are being filed against Sharif and his sons – one related to the Azizia Steel Mill and the Hill Metal Establishment and the other pertaining to the offshore companies owned by the Sharif family.
The reference against Dar will be filed over possession of assets and funds beyond his known sources of income.
The apex court had also directed NAB to include all other persons, including Sheikh Saeed, Musa Ghani, Kashif Masood Qazi, Javaid Kiyani and Saeed Ahmad (National Bank of Pakistan president), having any direct or indirect connection with the accused. However, NAB, while preparing the references, did not summon any of the individuals mentioned in the judgment.
NAB suggests freezing of Sharifs’ assets
The apex court had permitted NAB to file any supplementary references on the basis of any new evidence found during the course of proceedings. However, no such reference against any accused had been prepared.
According to the judgment, the accountability court shall proceed with and decide the references within six months from the date of filing.
During preparation of the references, neither any Sharif family member nor Dar appeared before NAB investigators despite repeated summons issued to them. Instead their lawyers filed review petitions with the Supreme Court against its judgment.
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