Corruption references – Nawaz Sharif appears before NAB court

Nawaz Sharif (de-seated former prime minister of Pakistan) appeared before a National Accountability Bureau (NAB) court on Tuesday in connection with the three corruption referencesand informed the NAB court that his wife was not well and he needed to attend to her, following which Sharif was granted permission to leave.

Large number of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders, federal ministers and workers, in a tight security accompanied Nawaz Sharif to the court for his first appearance.

The court had summoned Sharif, who arrived Monday morning from London, after his failure to appear at an earlier hearing on Sept 19.

The court had also summoned Sharif’s sons — Hussain and Hassan — but they are not appearing today as they are still in London tending to their mother, who is undergoing cancer treatment.

Accountability Judge Mohammad Bashir had earlier summoned Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz, sons Hussain and Hassan Nawaz and son-in-law Mohammed Safdar on Sept 19 in connection with three corruption references filed by NAB under Supreme Court orders.

Though Mr Sharif and his children have publicly expressed concerns over the SC judgement and had filed review petitions before the same bench, the petitions were all dismissed on Sept 15.

NAB had filed three references against the Sharif family in connection with the London properties, the establishment of 16 companies, including Flagship Investment Ltd in the UK and Azizia Steel Mills and Hill Metal Establishment in Jeddah.

The former premier and his sons have been named in all three references, while Maryam and Capt Safdar have only been named in the Avenfield reference.

Asif Kirmani – Nawaz Sharif’s political secretary told reporters outside Punjab House that the former prime minister would hold a press conference today (Tuesday) after appearing before the NAB court.

Kirmani said that Nawaz Sharif held a number of informal meetings and consulted senior party leaders, as well as members of his legal team, to plan strategies to deal with the legal and political challenges faced by PML(N).

Sharif has now returned to Punjab House in the federal capital, where he is expected to chair a meeting of senior PML-N officials later in the day.

Speaking to media in London before leaving for Islamabad, Nawaz Sharif had said that he had come to UK only to inquire after the health of his wife and had no plans to stay in UK for a long time.

Nawaz Sharif and his family had earlier opted to boycott court proceedings however, they changed their minds and decided to appear before the courts on the advice of a number of senior party leaders, including Shahbaz Sharif, and their counsels as per sources.