Court dismisses Sharifs' plea seeking delay in Avenfield reference verdict
Accountability court judge Muhammad Bashir begin hearing the case.
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – The accountability court on Friday dismissed the petition of Sharif family requesting to defer the verdict in the Avenfield reference case for seven days citing Kulsoom Nawaz’s critical health.
Accountability court judge Muhammad Bashir begin proceedings of the case. He announced the reserved decision over the plea ruling that the verdict in Avenfield corruption reference will be given at 2:30pm.
Keeping in view the orders of the court, foolproof security arrangements have been made in and outside the court by the Islamabad administration. Section-144 has been imposed around the Judicial Complex.
There will be a complete ban on the assembly of more than 5 people outside the Judicial Complex, while 500 Rangers personnel and 1500 police personnel have been deputed in and outside the complex.
On the other hand, the security of accountability court judge Muhammad Bashir has also been beefed up.
Avenfield Reference
The Avenfield reference is one of three corruption references filed against the deposed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, his three children, son-in-law and former finance minister Ishaq Dar in compliance with the Supreme Court verdict in the Panama Papers case last year.
The case is pertaining to the Park Lane apartments (flats 16, 16-A, 17, and 17-A Avenfield House, Park Lane, London, United Kingdom) of the Sharif family and comprises Nawaz Sharif, his three children, and son-in-law Capt (retd) Safdar as the accused.
Ex-PM’s sons Hassan Nawaz and Hussain Nawaz have been declared absconders in the case.
Prosecution maintains that Sharif family obtained the flats through illegal sources however the charges have been denied by the accused. The family insists that the four flats are the ownership of Nawaz’s sons.
The hearing of the case went for nine months and 22 days during which statements of at least 22 witnesses were recorded.
Sharif, his sons, daughter, son-in-law Capt (retd) Mohammad Safdar and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar are facing multiple corruption references in the accountability court.
The Pakistan Supreme Court had, on July 28, disqualified Sharif from holding the office of the prime minister and asked the National Accountability Bureau to file references against the Sharif family in connection with corruption cases against them.
On the orders of the apex Court, a JIT was formed last year to probe the allegations on the Sharif family.
