Judge seeks extension in deadline of references against Sharifs: sources

ISLAMABAD: The accountability court judge, hearing corruption references against the Sharif family, has written a letter to the Supreme Court seeking extension in deadline to finish the trials in remaining two references, sources informed Geo News Saturday.

The apex court had initially given 6-month deadline to the accountability court for concluding the trials, however, the Accountability Court-1 judge took extension in the deadline four times.

Last time, the Supreme Court had on July 10 extended the deadline by 6 weeks.

Sources said the Accountability Court-II judge, Arshad Mailk, has written to the apex court seeking an extension.

The judge, in his letter, has requested the Supreme Court for extension to conclude Al-Azizia and Flagship Investment references, the sources added.

A three-member bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice Saqib Nisar, will conduct a hearing on August 27 with regard to extension in deadline of references.

On July 6, after four extensions in the original six-month deadline to conclude all three cases, the court had announced its verdict in the Avenfield reference.

Accountability court Judge Mohammad Bashir had announced the verdict handing the ousted prime minister 10 years as jail time and seven years to his daughter Maryam Nawaz.

The trial against the Sharif family commenced on September 14, 2017. Nawaz and his sons, Hussain and Hasan, are accused in all three references whereas Maryam and Safdar were 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.