Wajid Zia records statement in Avenfield reference against Sharif family
Justice Mohammad Bashir allowed former PM to leave.
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Prosecution witness Wajid Zia, former head of the Panama case Joint Investigation Team (JIT) on Thursday has recorded his statement as ex-prime minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and Captain (r) Safdar appeared in accountability court in Avenfield reference.
During the hearing headed by Justice Mohammad Bashir, former PM refused to leave despite getting exemption.
The defence lawyer raised objection over Wajid Zia’s statement upon which the court asked the witness to present the document in sequence to avoid any ambiguity.
Meanwhile, NAB prosecutor Sardar Mazhar Abbasi said that it is required to read from a paper book to refresh the memory over which, lawyer Ayesha Hamid demanded to write it that the witness recorded his statement while reading from a paper book.
Maryam’s plea partially accepted
The court has partially accepted Maryam Nawaz’s request to not make the report of JIT as part of the case.
Justice Bashir has assured to not include JIT’s analysis in the record and ordered to record the statements of JIT’s witnesses in the court.
Earlier, Nawaz Sharif along with his daughter Maryam Nawaz attended proceedings of supplementary references over Al-Azizia Steel Mills and Flagship Investment cases. Five witnesses of prosecution recorded their statements while defence lawyer Khawaja Harris cross-examined them.
Wajid Zia had submitted record in three boxes and requested the court to make JIT report as part of the proceedings.
Maryam Nawaz’s lawyer challenged the appeal, saying that no law allows to include suggestions of investigation team as record.
Afterwards, the court decided to not make the report as part of the record.
SC disqualified Sharif from office in July over unreported sources of annual income of about $10,000, a salary the former premier denies ever receiving. The high court also ordered the NAB to investigate and conduct a trial into the Sharif family’s wider finances, including the London properties.
Sharif was also ousted from the presidency of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party, which elected close ally Shahid Khaqan Abbasi as prime minister after Sharif was disqualified.
