ISLAMABAD ,(Pakistan Point News - 30th Jan, 2018 ) Accountability court on Tuesday rejected ex-prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s plea against supplementary reference filed by National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in the Avenfield properties case. During the hearing of NAB references, Judge Mohammad Bashir turned down the petition and summoned five witnesses of the prosecution regarding supplementary reference. He has also directed to record the statements of the witnesses living abroad via video link.
Khawaja Harris, the Sharifs’ lawyer, while objecting to the reference, said there was no need to file a supplementary reference against his clients. The new information and evidence obtained under the MLA would have been made part of the case with court’s approval, he added. According to the reference, Sharif is the actual owner of the London properties, which he had bought in the name of his children. It alleges Sharif’s daughter Maryam Nawaz and son Hussain Nawaz provided fake documents to a joint investigation team appointed to probe the ruling family’s wealth with regard to the flats in a pricey London neighbhourhood.
NAB team argued that the supplementary reference supports old allegations and that there is nothing new in it. On the other hand, Director of Foreign Office Affaq Ahmed has also recorded his statement over which the Sharif lawyer has completed his arguments. Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law Captain (retd) Safdar appeared before the accountability court Tuesday as it resumed the hearing of the graft references filed against them by the NAB. The supplementary reference included seven witnesses, including expert of the Radley Forensic Document Laboratory in London, Robert W. Radley and solicitor.
