Islamabad: An Islamabad-based accountability court on Wednesday issued summons for deposed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his sons Hussain and Hassan for September 19 in cases filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) over alleged corruption by the ruling family.
The development came shortly after the anti-graft watchdog re-submitted the reference regarding Flagship Investments (an offshore firm owned by Nawaz’s children), Dawn reported.
The top accountability body had last week filed four references against the Sharifs as well as Finance Minister Ishaq Dar in light of the July 28 judgement of the Supreme Court in the Panama Papers case. However, the registrar of the accountability court returned two references and directed NAB to re-submit them by September 14.
The anti-graft body said the accused had been given ample time to explain and provide evidence regarding the accumulation of these assets but “they did not join the investigations before the NAB on the pretext of a review petition already filed before the Supreme Court of Pakistan against the July 28 verdict”.
A five-judge larger bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, is already hearing two separate review petitions moved by the ruling family, challenging decisions given by a five-member bench and a three-member bench of the apex court.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf spokesman Fawad Chaudhry has said the review appeal filed by Sharif against the Panama case decision is aimed at distracting the Supreme Court from its supervision of the case proceedings.
“...It ends the stipulated six months duration of the reference,” he said while talking to the media outside SC on Wednesday.
“NAB is fully supporting the Sharif family. We have pursued this matter and we will take it to its logical conclusion,” he added.
He held “had this been done by someone other than Sharif family then they all would have been in jail”.
Meanwhile, Awami Muslim League (AML) Chief Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad has claimed that the Sharif Brothers and family are involved in the Hudaibiya paper mills case.
While talking to media Wednesday, Rasheed Ahmad said AML is the only petitioner in the Hudaibiya Paper Mills case and “we have been made a party.
“I have received a notice in this regard and now I have come straight right from London,” he said. “I would say to court that it should ask NAB why can it not monitor the case as NAB had said it would reopen the case.”
The petition against NAB filed by Rasheed Ahmad in the apex court has been fixed for hearing. The petitioner took the plea that NAB assured the Supreme Court on the filing of the appeal against the Hudaibiya case decision and now the Chairman NAB isn’t filing the appeal.
The petitioner said the court must order NAB for filing the appeal, besides launching contempt of court proceedings against the Chairman NAB and prosecutor.
— Agencies
