Nawaz’s sons get court relief

Accountability court cancels permanent warrants, revoke proclamation of Hassan and Hussain

ISLAMABAD:

 

Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s sons, Hassan and Hussain, received significant relief on Thursday as an accountability court revoked its earlier order declaring them proclaimed offenders and canceled their permanent arrest warrants.

The court also admitted the plea for their acquittal and directed the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to present all records of the cases filed against them on Friday (today).

On Thursday, Hassan and Hussain surrendered themselves to Islamabad Accountability Court-I before Judge Nasir Javed Rana. The brothers had returned to Pakistan on March 12 after the same judge suspended their arrest warrants on March 7.

Hassan and Hussain were named as accused along with Nawaz Sharif in all three references—the Avenfield case, the Flagship case, and the Al-Azizia case—filed by NAB in July 2017 on the order of the Supreme Court following the Panama Papers scandal.

As the brothers, who live in the United Kingdom, did not attend the legal proceedings, the courts that heard these cases declared them proclaimed offenders and issued permanent arrest warrants.

Last year, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) acquitted Nawaz Sharif in both the Avenfield and Al-Azizia cases on November 29 and December 12, 2023, respectively. Meanwhile, NAB withdrew its appeal against an accountability court’s verdict to acquit Nawaz in the Flagship reference.

On Thursday, the brothers' lawyer, Qazi Masbah, stated that the court had issued arrest warrants for the accused to ensure their appearance in court.

Read: 'Nawaz given relief due to NAB's stance'

He said in the Avenfield reference, all other accused— Nawaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz, and Captain (Retired) Safdar—had been acquitted, and the IHC had also acquitted Nawaz in the Al-Azizia case.
“Nawaz Sharif was acquitted by the accountability court in the Flagship reference, and NAB has withdrawn its appeal against the trial court’s order,” he said, requesting the court to set aside its earlier order for declaring Hassan and Hussain as proclaimed offenders.

The court, while rescinding the arrest warrants for the brothers, ordered them to submit bonds of Rs50,000 each.  The court also ordered NAB to present the case record by Friday while admitting their requests for acquittal.

The judge also accepted Qazi Misbah’s request to appoint a pleader for the accused and later appointed Rana Irfan as their pleader. In an informal conversation with journalists in the courtroom, Hussain said they never claimed they are not Pakistani citizens.

“Everything that happened to us is in front of you. Hassan Nawaz and I have no affiliation with any government. However, on October 12, 1999, we were arrested from the PM's House without any charges, kept in solitary confinement for 14 months, and then deported without any case against us.”

He noted that significant changes had taken place in NAB.

“More reforms are needed to prevent future political vendettas. Parliament and the government may legislate in reference to NAB if they deem it necessary.”

In response to a question regarding giving the right to a fair trial to PTI founder Imran Khan, he stated that everyone should have the right to a transparent trial. “It is very unfortunate that we could not participate in our mother's funeral,” he added.