Accountability court partially accepts Maryam's plea against submission of entire JIT report

ISLAMABAD: The accountability court conducting corruption cases against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his family resumed the Avenfield properties reference hearing today. 

As the hearing went under way, Nawaz, daughter Maryam and son-in-law MNA Capt (retd) Safdar appeared in court. 

Nawaz and Maryam requested the court to allow them to be exempted from today's hearing. Approving their request, Judge Mohammad Bashir adjourned the hearing until former Panama case joint investigation team (JIT) head Wajid Zia appears to record his statement. 

As the hearing resumed, Maryam's counsel Amjaz Pervez and the prosecutor argued over the defence's plea to not make the entire JIT report part of the court record. 

The judge, after a short recess, partially approved the plea and ordered that the JIT report’s analysis and the statements of witnesses it recorded will not be made part of court record.

Later, Zia appeared in court and began recording his statement. 

During the hearing, Maryam’s counsel objected to Zia's submission of documents signed by NAB’s Irfan Mangi, who was a member of the JIT. He argued that Mangi can submit the documents if and when he appears in court as a witness. 

Zia responded that he should be allowed to submit the documents his way, to which the judge inquired as to where the source material of the JIT report originated from.

Moreover, during the hearing, Zia presented in court the JIT’s correspondence with Qatari royal family member Hamad bin Jassim, including the Sharif family associate’s June 26 letter. 

The hearing was then adjourned until tomorrow when Zia will continue recording his statement. He was also instructed to bring the relevant JIT record in conformity. 

At the last hearing of the reference on March 8, the court had rejected Zia's request to make the entire JIT report part of the case and directed him to record his statement regarding material related to the Avenfield properties only. 

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had filed three interim corruption references against the Sharif family in September last year in light of the Supreme Court's July 28 verdict in the Panama Papers case. The bureau recently filed supplementary references in all three cases as well. 

The cases

The trial against the Sharif family had commenced on September 14, 2017.

The corruption references, filed against the Sharif family, pertain to the Al-Azizia Steel Mills and Hill Metal Establishment, offshore companies including Flagship Investment Ltd, and Avenfield properties of London.

Nawaz and sons Hussain and Hasan are accused in all three references whereas his daughter Maryam and son-in-law MNA Capt (retd) Safdar are accused in the Avenfield reference only.

The two brothers, based abroad, have been absconding since the proceedings began last year and were declared proclaimed offenders by the court.