NAB reference: Accountability court adjourns hearing due to absence of Sharif’s counsel

Hearing into al-Azizia Steel Mills reference will now be conducted on Tuesday

An Islamabad-based accountability court on Monday adjourned the hearing of a corruption reference against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif pertaining to al-Azizia Steel Mills.

The hearing of the reference filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) began earlier today, however, Sharif's counsel Khawaja Haris and witnesses in the case were unable to reach the court due to the prevailing law and order situation in the federal capital.

This led the accountability court judge Muhammad Bashir adjourn the hearing until tomorrow (Tuesday), according to Express News.



Meanwhile, Sharif's son-in-law Capt (retd) Muhammad Safdar reached the court before the hearing was adjourned. Speaking to journalists he said he appeared for the hearing of the case (which does not involve him) on the advice of his lawyers.

The ousted PM and his family face three corruption references filed against them by the top graft buster on the orders of the apex court, which had disqualified Sharif in its July 28 Panama Papers verdict.

The references pertain to London’s Avenfield flats, Flagship Investment Limited and 15 other companies as well as al-Azizia Company Limited and Hill Metals Establishment.