Islamabad: A Pakistan accountability court on Monday granted former Premier Nawaz Sharif a one-day exemption from appearance and set October 13 as date for his indictment.
The court also approved bails of Mr Sharif’s daughter Maryam Nawaz and his son-in-law Mohammed Safdar after their appearances in references filed by National Accountability Bureau (NAB) over Panama leaks case.
During the hearing conducted by Justice Mohammed Bashir, lawyer Tariq Fazal Chaudhry submitted two surety bonds worth Rs 5 million each after which Maryam Nawaz and Mohammed Safdar were granted bails.
Earlier, Sharif family counsel Khawaja Harris also presented Mr Sharif’s wife 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.
The court granted Nawaz Sharif one-day exemption from appearance and set October 13 as date for his indictment.
The accountability court declared 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 separate trials.
The court rejected NAB’s request to confiscate Mr 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 Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) leader.
Maryam Nawaz said she appeared before the court despite reservations, adding that 200 million people elected Nawaz Sharif as their PM and the court ousted him in a second.
She asserted that her family was 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 added.
Maryam Nawaz said questions will be raised when a case filed on Panama Leaks ended on Iqama (work permit) 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. It’s our victory that one by one trials were filed against us and we survived them, she added.
