Four months on: NAB investigation against Sharifs yet to complete

Role of Musa Ghani, Saeed Ahmed, Javaid Kayani, Tariq Shafi still under progress

ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has yet to complete the investigation initiated against deposed prime minister, his sons, daughter and son in-law even after a passage of over four months into the Sharif family’s trial before an accountability court in connection with three interim references against them.

On Tuesday, the NAB prosecution team filed a supplementary reference against the Sharif family in the Avenfield Apartments case in the court stating that the criminal role of some key accused in the case still under progress and the bureau would file a second supplementary reference as and when required.



The supplementary reference is against the ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz, sons Hassan Nawaz and Hussain Nawaz son-in-law Captain (retd) Mohammad Safdar.

In the reference, NAB chairman Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal stated that “investigation to the extent of the criminal roles of Musa Ghani, Saeed Ahmed, Javaid Kayani and Tariq Shafi” in aiding and abetting the accused is under progress as for Mutual Legal Assistance to foreign countries is still awaited.

Saeed Ahmed is the president and CEO of the National Bank of Pakistan and Shafi is a cousin of Nawaz Sharif. The reference read that the bureau would file a second supplementary reference as and when required by making MLA a part of that reference.

When the supplementary reference was filed, the NAB prosecution team requested the court to summons new witnesses on the next hearing. The defence counsel, however, raised the objection, saying the court can’t summon without examining if the supplementary reference is sustainable or not.

The defence counsel, Khawaja Haris and Amjad Pervaiz, would present arguments on the next date of hearing – Jan 30.

Since September 2017, the Sharif family is standing trial on the basis of interim references and recently, it emerged during a hearing that NAB has yet to submit original or certified copies of the Joint Investigation Team’s report and the trial is being conducted on the basis of unattested photocopies of JIT report.

In the foregoing facts and evidence collected so far, it is established that the accused Nawaz Sharif being a public office-holder owned Avenfield properties in the name of his dependents/benamidars which are disproportionate and beyond his known sources of income.

It added that Sharif could not reasonably account for and does not commensurate with his sources of income and shown to be acquired the same in the name of Hussain Nawaz of which Maryam Nawaz was made as the trustee, which has been proved to be fake and fabricated from record and forensic report.

By this way, NAB stated, Maryam and her brothers Hassan and Hussain (who have already been declared proclaimed offenders) and her husband Captain (retired) Safdar being associate aided, abetted, conspired and connived themselves with Nawaz Sharif in the commission of offence triable and punishable under Section 9(a), (v) & (xii) and Section 10 of the NAB Ordinance, 1999.

NAB maintained that the accused persons have been found to have acquired refused to answer questions or to provide information to NAB, adding they have given false information and fabricated evidence during investigation before JIT and proceedings in the Supreme Court.

NAB continued that the contradictory stances taken by the accused persons expose them to failure in order to prove the money trail in respect of acquisition and purchase of the properties.

The bureau added that the accused persons through interviews and speeches made on electronic media and in the National Assembly took different stances with regard to the acquisition of the case properties.

In addition, the top anti-graft body stated that stances were found to be bogus and unsubstantiated from the material collected during the course of investigation.

During the investigation, NAB said, it revealed that Maryam and her brothers submitted two affidavits of Tariq Shafi on November 12, 2016 and January 20, 2017 by virtue of which the accused persons gave false information and fabricated evidence with regard to the acquisition of case properties in order to consciously and deliberately misled the investigation pending against them and the Supreme Court.

The reference said that it also prevented the JIT from digging out the truth regarding means used to acquire case properties.

Surprisingly, NAB has admitted in the reference that consequences of giving false information and submitting fabricated and false documents by the accused persons shall be determined by accountability court after conclusion of the present reference.



Previously, NAB in its reference against former finance minister Ishaq Dar, said that it has yet to determine the role of the Saeed Ahmed over his alleged involvement in ‘aiding and abetting’ Dar for a 91 times’ increase in his assets within a short span.

“Investigation into the extent of the roles of Saeed Ahmed or any other person in aiding and abetting the accused in the acquisition of the stated properties is under progress,” NAB stated in its reference against Dar.

The anti-graft body has filed the reference with the registrar of the accountability court for scrutiny and listed seven new witnesses, including the head of JIT head Wajid Zia, two foreigners and two officials of the ministry of information, against the Sharif family.

One of the witnesses listed in the reference is Robert W Radley, a forensic expert based in the UK. NAB said that Nawaz Sharif, Maryam Safdar, Hasan Nawaz and Hussain Nawaz’s TV interviews are also made a part of the new evidence.

In its report, the JIT report had concluded that Maryam is the real and ultimate beneficial owner of the Avenfield apartments; she never declared them as her overseas properties, allegedly submitted fake documents and misled the Supreme Court.

Following the hearing, the court has summoned two witnesses on Jan 30.