Twitter
Advertisement

Islamabad HC dismisses Nawaz Sharif's plea to club 3 corruption cases

The three cases against the Sharif family are related to the Al-Azizia Company and Hill Metal Establishment, Flagship Investment Ltd and the Avenfield (London) properties

Latest News
article-main
Nawaz Sharif
FacebookTwitterWhatsappLinkedin

The Islamabad High Court today dismissed ousted Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif's plea to club three corruption cases against him linked to the Panama Papers scandal.

A two-member bench issued a short order turning down his appeal and said that a detailed judgment would be issued later. The cases were registered by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on September 8 against Sharif, his family in the Accountability Court Islamabad, following a verdict by Supreme Court in the Panama Papers case. The accountability court in Islamabad had on November 8 rejected a plea by 67-year-old Sharif to club his cases, which he challenged in the Islamabad High Court.

The IHC had completed the hearing and reserved the judgment on November 23, which it announced today. The three cases against the Sharif family are related to the Al-Azizia Company and Hill Metal Establishment, Flagship Investment Ltd and the Avenfield (London) properties. Earlier, the accountability court postponed hearing of graft cases against Sharif until this afternoon due to the expected verdict of the high court.

Sharif along with his daughter Maryam and son-in-law Muhammad Safdar appeared in the court. His lawyer Khawaja Harris requested Judge Mohammad Bashir to suspend proceedings and wait for the Islamabad High Court's (IHC) decision on a petition by Sharif to club his three graft cases into one, as all were related to his alleged amassing of assets beyond the known sources of income. The court after hearing the argument from the NAB prosecutor postponed hearing till 1 pm and allowed Sharif to go home but ordered him to be present when the hearing would restart.

Sharif and his sons, Hassan and Hussain, have been named in all the three NAB cases, while Maryam and her husband Safdar have been named only in the Avenfield case. The court today granted Sharif a week-long exemption from appearing in court from Dec 5 to 11 to be with his wife Kulsoom, who is receiving cancer treatment in London. However, the court rejected his daughter's request for an exemption from court hearings, saying she had already received such an exemption earlier from Nov 15 to Dec 15, which was still intact.

The court also declared Hassan and Hussain Nawaz absconders as witnesses began recording statements against them, Dawn news reported. Last month, Sharif was indicted in all three cases while his daughter Maryam and her husband Safdar, co-accused with Sharif in only one case, were also indicted along with Sharif. Sharif's sons Hassan and Hussain have failed to appear in the court despite repeated summons which prompted the court to separate their cases.

Heavy security arrangements were made and hundreds of security personnel deployed around the court premises. Sharif has denied any wrongdoing. The cases are based on July 28 verdict by the Supreme Court which disqualified Sharif and ordered to launch three corruption cases against him and his family, and one case against finance minister Ishaq Dar in the PanamaPapers case. Dar had been relieved of his duties after the ailing politician, who was declared a proclaimed absconder by a court in the case, requested leave for three months.

Find your daily dose of news & explainers in your WhatsApp. Stay updated, Stay informed-  Follow DNA on WhatsApp.
Advertisement

Live tv

Advertisement
Advertisement