Court case: Worried Nawaz Sharif calls close aides
The former PM is expected to be indicted during the court proceedings.
Islamabad: Ousted Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has summoned his close aides to London for consultation ahead of his possible indictment on October 19.
Mr Sharif, disqualified by the Supreme Court in July, is expected to return home to appear before an accountability court in connection with a series of corruption cases.
In addition, Mr Sharif will be updated regarding the findings of a committee on the issue of changing the text of the Khatm-e-Naboowat (finality of the Prophethood) declaration in the Elections Bill 2017, it was learnt.
The meeting, summoned by Sharif as the PML-N President, is expected before October 19. The leaders called for the meeting include Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) chairman Raja Zafarul Haq, federal ministers Khawaja Asif, Khawaja Saad Rafique, Mushahidullah Khan, Ahsan Iqbal and Zahid Hamid and Senator Pervaiz Rashid. Zafarul Haq is the head of the three-member committee formed by Mr Sharif on the issue of Khatm-e-Naboowat oath, while Mushahidullah Khan and Ahsan Iqbal are its members.
The former PM is expected to be indicted during the court proceedings. The sources said Mr Sharif was willing to return to the country to appear before the court on the date but his sons Hassan and Hussain Nawaz were unwilling to land in Pakistan to face the trial.
The ex-Premier wanted them to show up at the court, the party sources said. On October 13, Mr Sharif, his sons, daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law Mohammed Safdar were to be indicted by the accountability court but rowdy lawyers from the PML-N disrupted the proceedings. Earlier, the court had issued non-bailable arrest warrants of Mr Safdar, Hassan and Hussain and bailable warrants of Maryam.
PML-N insiders said even though Mr Sharif was expected to arrive in Pakistan to appear before the court, the plan of his sons, who were settled in London, was not clear. His daughter and son-in-law are in Pakistan.
Meanwhile on Monday, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Special Prosecutor Imran Shafiq and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar’s counsel Khawaja Haris exchanged harsh words with each other during the hearing of the minister’s assets beyond means case.