Al-Azizia reference: Never used Qatari letter in my defence, says Nawaz
Qatari prince had verified both letters forwarded to Supreme Court (SC), said Nawaz Sharif.
RAWALPINDI (Dunya News) – Ex-prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Saturday has continued to record his statement in Al-Azizia Steel Mills reference and said that he has never used Qatari letter in his defence.
During the hearing headed by accountability court judge Justice Muhammad Arshad Malik, the former PM answered 30 more questions, saying the he never relied on the Qatari letter.
Qatari prince Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani had asked Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to send him questionnaire but the team imposed strict conditions, he added.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo went on to say that the prince had verified both letters forwarded to Supreme Court (SC). JIT had no reason to declare the Qatari letter a story as the prince had always offered his cooperation for the proceedings at every level, he said.
The ex-PM reiterated that Al-Azizia Steel Mill had been established by his father Mian Muhammad Sharif, while his son Hussain Nawaz used to take care of its affairs. He argued that the statements of his sons Hassan and Hussain Nawaz were not recorded by the JIT in his presence, so any such statement or interview could not be presented as evidence against him.
To a question regarding transferring funds to Maryam Nawaz, he said it was his legal right to further gift the amount to his daughter which he had received as a gift from his son.
Meanwhile, Justice Arshad Malik has written a letter to the Supreme Court, requesting it to extend the deadline for completing the trial as more time was required for the purpose.
Previously, Sharif had ‘denied any link with Qatari letters’ submitted with the SC in Panama Papers case. “The volume 10 of the JIT report is merely an investigation report, it is not acceptable as [legal] evidence”, he stated.
It is worth mentioning here that the cases against Nawaz family stemmed from the Panama Papers leak that disclosed expensive and undeclared property allegedly owned by them in London.
Former PM Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law Captain Safdar were convicted and sentenced to prison for ten years, seven years and one year respectively in Avenfield verdict.
However, the convictions were suspended by Islamabad High Court and they were released from Adiala jail till final decision.
