Pakistan accountability court turns down NAB request to probe Nawaz

Islamabad: An accountability court here on Friday turned down an application filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) seeking permission to probe the jailed former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in connection with the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case.

Accountability judge Mohammad Bashir returned the application by the NAB, saying the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain it, reported Dawn.

The probe agency has alleged that millions of rupees have been laundered under the mill's names. The investigation that started in October 2018, revealed that Nawaz, Maryam and Shahbaz Sharif and a few foreigners were shareholders.

The evidence against the owners of the sugar mills came to the fore during the investigation against Shehbaz Sharif and his sons Hamza and Salman in money laundering and income beyond means case.

Maryam Nawaz, the daughter of Nawaz, was questioned before the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in Lahore today in connection with the case.

The accountability watchdog had also summoned Maryam's siblings, Hassan Nawaz, and Hussain Nawaz, on suspicion of being stakeholders in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills, Dunya News reported.

Moreover, the accountability watchdog has also ordered Abbas Sharif's son Abdul Aziz to appear before the investigation team.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz president Shehbaz Sharif is also likely to be called by the bureau in the same case.

The NAB has purportedly traced numerous telegraphic transfers (TTs) worth millions of rupees by the Sharif family.

The NAB has launched another investigation against members of Sharif family, and in this regard, the bureau, for the first time, summoned Yousuf Abbas on July 23 and recorded his statement.