Captain Safdar arrested as he returns from London

Sharif’s daughter appeared before accountability court today

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) arrested Captain (retd) Mohammed Safdar as soon as he landed at the Benazir Bhutto International Airport on his return from London, while his wife Maryam Nawaz left for her house, Express News reported.

Maryam will appear in an accountability court on Monday for the hearing of three references related to the Panamagate case.

Arrest warrants for Safdar were issued by an accountability court after he and other members of the family failed to appear before it.
Sharif and his sons Hasan and Hussain Nawaz will not be appearing and an application in this regard will be moved in the court. The court is likely to collect surety from Maryam and Safdar to ensure their appearance in the proceedings and then provide them copies of the references and records. The court may call them again within seven days to frame charges, as the indictment will not be possible in the absence of Sharif.



NAB has prepared a compliance report on the warrants for the arrest and the prosecutors will present it in the court. According to the penal code, the charges cannot be framed if all the accused are not present in court.

According to legal experts, in such a situation the accountability court may separate the case of the present accused or deem those absent as absconders.

Strict security arrangements have been made for today’s hearing. Police will be deployed instead of Rangers and only those people will be allowed to enter the judicial complex whose names have already been provided to the law enforcers. Media representatives will be allowed to enter the complex but only a few representatives will be permitted inside the courtroom with a special permission from the registrar.