NAB teams in position but Capt Safdar in the wind
July 08, 2018
ISLAMABAD: Captain (retd) Muhammad Safdar Awan is reportedly in the wind, as of Saturday night, Geo News reported, as the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) stations teams to arrest the third person sentenced in the widely-followed Friday Avenfield reference case ruling.
The authority has positioned three teams in different cities in order to facilitate the capture of Captain (retd) Safdar, the son-in-law of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif. A team has been position in Haripur, another in Abbottabad, and a third one in Mansehra.
An accountability court had sentenced him to one year in prison in relation to the Avenfield properties reference on Friday, with Nawaz and Maryam — his daughter and Capt (retd) Safdar's wife — receiving 11 and eight years in prison along with £8-million and £2-million fines, respectively.
Further, the fugitive's mobile phone has also been reportedly switched off.
The interim minister of information for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) said last night neither he nor his office has been in touch with anyone regarding Capt (retd) Safdar's arrest.
The NAB is an independent body, with the authorisation and personnel to conduct its raids, the caretaker provincial minister noted, adding that he would help if the body asks.
Earlier, a NAB team left for KP to arrest Capt (retd) Safdar, a day after an accountability court announced a one-year-sentence against him.
The court had put Safdar’s name on the blacklist, which implied that he would be barred from leaving the country.
A copy of the NAB verdict, which Geo News has obtained, mentioned that the action has been initiated for the implementation of the verdict. Sources, on the other hand, noted that the NAB has approached the KP government for Safdar's arrest and a team has subsequently been dispatched.
Prior to that, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) issued directives to halt the printing of ballot papers for the NA-127 and NA-14 constituencies of Maryam Nawaz and Safdar as they have been barred by the accountability court from contesting the July 25 polls.
