NAB references: Accountability court grants bail to Maryam Nawaz, Captain (r) Safdar
Nawaz Sharif will not attend the hearing due to absence of his sons Hassan and Hussain.
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - Accountability court on Monday has approved bails of ex-prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s daughter Maryam Nawaz and his son-in-law Captain (r) Safdar after their appearances in references filed by National Accountability Bureau (NAB) over Panama Leaks case.
During the hearing conducted by Justice Bashir, lawyer Tariq Fazal Chaudhry submitted two surety bonds worth Rs5 million each after which Maryam Nawaz and Captain (r) Safdar were granted bails.
Meanwhile, the court has rejected NAB’s request to confiscate Safdar’s passport and to issue his judicial remand, however, the accused has been directed not to leave the country without court’s permission. Copies of references have also been handed over to the PML-N leader.
Talking to media, Maryam Nawaz said that we appeared before the court despite reservations, adding that 20 crore people elected Nawaz Sharif as their PM and the court ousted him in a second.
She asserted that we are being trialed despite disqualification. My brothers are living abroad and Pakistani laws do not apply on them, they will decide about their appearance by themselves, she continued.
Maryam Nawaz stated questions will be raised when a case filed on Panama Leaks ended on Iqama and that the judges have to answer these questions. She maintained that questions sent to Panama Joint Investigation Team (JIT) are still unanswered as they were baseless allegations.
Nawaz Sharif was disqualified over already decided verdict and references were prepared against him. Its our victory that one by one trials were filed against us and we survived them, she added.
Nawaz‘s indictment
Earlier, Sharif family counsel Khawaja Harris also presented Kulsoom Nawaz’s medical report and told that Nawaz Sharif was ready to appear in the court but due to his wife’s health, he would not be available for 15 days.
The court asked whether Nawaz Sharif should be given exemption for 15 days over which NAB prosecutor appealed to issue his non-bailable arrest warrant for not attending the hearing despite assurance. He further said that no accused can get exemption before indictment.
On this, the court granted Nawaz Sharif one-day exemption from appearance and set October 13 as date for his indictment.
Earlier on October 2, Nawaz Sharif appeared in NAB court over references pertaining to London flats, Nelson, Nescom, Hill Metal and Azizia Steel Mills.
On September 26, Nawaz Sharif appeared in court for a short time
Hassan, Hussain declared absconders
The accountability court has declared former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s children Hassan Nawaz and Hussain Nawaz as absconders after both failed to appear in the court despite non-bailable arrest warrants issued against them last week. The court has also issued final arrest warrants against the accused.
Hassan and Hussain, who are facing corruption cases in Pakistan, are residing in London.
The court has also directed to hear their case in seperate trials.
