A questionnaire comprising 127 questions related to the Avenfield properties was handed over to the deposed PM and his family on Thursday
ISLAMABAD: The testimonies of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law Capt (r) Safdar in the Avenfield case could not be recorded on Friday as the defence sought more time to ponder over the questions sent by the accountability court.
As the hearing went under way, counsel for Nawaz Khawaja Haris pleaded the court to delay the recording of statements until Monday, saying they need more time to go over the questions sent by court owing to some “discrepancies”.
The prosecution objected to the plea, saying the defence just wanted to waste time.
However, Accountability Judge Mohammad Bashir approved the plea but observed that the recording of statements would not be delayed.
Moreover, the court ruled that Panama case JIT head Wajid Zia, whose cross-examination in the Al Azizia reference was to resume on Monday, would appear in court on Tuesday. Earlier, speaking to reporters inside the court, Nawaz criticised Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) supremo Asif Zardari’s statement calling on him to provide accountability of last 30 years, saying “everyone will have to be held accountable now”.
On Thursday, a questionnaire comprising 127 questions related to the Avenfield properties was handed over to the deposed PM and his family. The accused were directed to record their statements as per the questionnaire.
At the last hearing, NAB prosecutor Sardar Muzaffar Abbasi had pleaded the court to record the statements of Nawaz and his family in the Avenfield case. The court had approved the plea despite objections of the defence.
The Avenfield reference, pertaining to the Sharif family’s London properties, is among three filed against Sharif family by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) last year on the Supreme Court’s directives. The other corruption references, filed against the Sharifs, pertain to the Al-Azizia Steel Mills, Hill Metal Establishment and offshore companies, including Flagship Investment Ltd, and Avenfield properties of London. The NAB had earlier filed interim references in all three cases and later added supplementary references to them with new evidence and witnesses.
The court originally had a deadline of six months which ended in mid-March but was extended for two months after the judge requested the apex court.
Later, on May 9, the trial court’s second plea for a deadline extension was approved by the Supreme Court which gave a month to both sides to finish the corruption cases.
Published in Daily Times, May 19th 2018.
