An accountability court in Islamabad on Thursday ordered the seizure of convicted former premier Nawaz Sharif's assets in the Toshakhana (gift depository) reference filed by the country’s top anti-graft body.
The PML-N supreme leader, who is in London for medical treatment since late last year, was declared a proclaimed offender in the case in September.
The prosecutor representing the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) submitted a record of the Sharif family patriarch’s assets to the court.
Judge Asghar Ali then ordered the authorities to seize the ousted prime minister’s properties, which include a farm land in Lahore measuring more than 1,650 kanals, two harvesting vehicles, various luxury vehicles, domestic and foreign currency accounts in a local bank, a bungalow in Murree and 102 kanals of agricultural land in Sheikhupura.
In the reference, NAB has alleged that Sharif and former president Asif Ali Zardari illegally retained expensive vehicles gifted to them by different foreign states and dignitaries instead of depositing them in the Toshakhana by paying only 15% of their price.
The anti-graft body has also accused former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani dishonestly and illegally facilitating Zardari and Sharif in retaining the vehicles by relaxing the rules through a cabinet division memorandum.
Zardari and two other co-accused Omni Group chairman Anwar Majeed and his son Abdul Ghani Majeed filed an application requesting exemption from appearing before the court.
The counsel for Gilani, who appeared before the court, raised the objection that there were some documents missing from the reference. Later, a prosecution witness, Imran Zafar was cross-examined by Farooq H Naek, the lawyer for Zardari.
Naek also raised the objection that the documents presented by NAB in connection with the case were photo copies.
The court directed NAB to present the original documents at the next hearing on October 13. Another witness, Mohammad Zubair Siddiqui, will also record his statement at the next hearing.
Gifts are routinely exchanged between heads of states or officers holding constitutional positions on the eve of a state visit. According to the gift depository (Toshakhana) rules, these gifts remain the property of the state unless sold at an open auction. Rules allow officials to retain gifts with a market value of less than Rs10,000 without paying anything.
In September, the court had sought the details of the PML-N supreme leader’s movable and immovable properties and also issued directions that the process of the Nawaz’s arrest and subsequent appearance before the court be clarified.
The judge had warned that the former premier's properties would be frozen if he failed to appear before the court.
The court had issued non-bailable arrest warrants for Nawaz in the case earlier in June this year. The Foreign Office was instructed in July to execute the arrest warrants through the country’s mission in London as the former premier has been in the British capital for medical treatment since late last year.
Nawaz, through his counsel, had filed an appeal against the arrest warrants in the Islamabad High Court, but withdrew it later.
The PML-N chief left for London after securing bail for medical treatment in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case and the Al Azizia reference.
The Supreme Court on July 28, 2017, had disqualified Nawaz in the Panama Papers case and ordered the NAB to file separate cases which were respectively called Avenfield, Al-Azizia and Flagship references.
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