Accountability Court to announce Al-Azizia reference verdict shortly

ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif on Monday is present in the Accountability Court (AC) to hear the verdict of the Flagship Investment and Al-Azizia references against him.

Earlier, on December 18, the Accountability Court judge Muhammad Arshad Malik had reserved the judgment after completion of trial in the Flagship Investment and Al-Azizia cases against Nawaz Sharif.

The Accountability Court judge Muhammad Arshad Malik had reserved the judgment after completion of trial in the Flagship Investment and Al-Azizia cases against 68-year-old Sharif last week.

Sharif will be present in the accountability court to hear the judgment in the corruption cases commonly known as Al Azizia Steel Mills and Flagship Investment references, initiated by the country s corruption watchdog National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in September 2017 on the top court’s directives.

The PML-N members of the National Assembly and workers have been instructed to move to the court in Islamabad. Besides, PMLN’s Tariq Fazal Chaudhary and Anjum Aqeel are given responsibilities of coordinating with local leaders and municipal representatives for motorcade and expression of unity amongst their leaders.

Meanwhile, security has been beefed up in Islamabad and Rawalpindi ahead of announcement of verdicts by the accountability court on December 24 in two references Al-Azizia and Flagship filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) against former premier Nawaz Sharif.

Reportedly, enhanced security plan includes deployment of heavy contingent of security forces including rangers and 1,000 police officers, particularly around the accountability court’s premises in Islamabad to curb a possible resistance by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s supporters.

Moreover, only Sharif and his lawyers will be allowed to enter the court room.

The accountability court had indicted Sharif for holding assets beyond his known sources of income in August 2017.

Last week, the judge rejected application by Sharif s lawyer Khawaja Harris to provide one week time to submit more documents but allowed him to provide any document by Friday last.

The PML-N supremo had been sentenced to 10 years in jail in a corruption case by an accountability court in May this year, however, the Islamabad High Court suspended the conviction in September.

Sharif, who religiously followed the proceeding by appearing before the court for at least 78 times, told the media after the court reserved the judgment last week that he not committed any corruption.

“Not a penny of corruption has been proven against meI am very happy that I have done my duty, and I think that since I have stepped in politics I have never indulged in corruption nor have misused my power,” he said.

Veteran politician Javed Hashmi on Saturday predicted that Sharif will be convicted in the Flagship and Al-Azizia case as “the institutions won t let these (cases) prove false”.

Talking to the media in Multan, he said that the purpose of the NAB was to make politicians change their political loyalties.

In July 2017, he was disqualified by the Supreme Court over the Panama Papers scandal, which also led to the filing of three corruption cases. Not long after, the top court also barred him from holding the leadership of his party.

The judge ordered Sharif to serve 10 years for owning assets beyond income and one year for not co-operating with the NAB.

Daughter Maryam Nawaz Sharif, received seven years for abetting a crime and one year for not co-operating – again to run concurrently – while son-in-law Safdar Awan was given a one-year sentence for not co-operating.

Sharif and Maryam had also received fines of £8m ($10.6m) and £2m respectively.

The Panama Papers leak in 2015 revealed several of Sharif s children had links to offshore companies, which were allegedly used to channel funds and buy foreign assets – including luxury flats in Avenfield House, on London s Park Lane. His family, however, insist they legitimately acquired the four properties.

The PML-N supremo, who served as the premier from 1990 to 1992, 1997 to 1999, and 2013 to 2017, could not complete even a single five-year term.

His two previous governments were dismissed over corruption charges and through a bloodless military coup in 1992 and 1999, respectively.

 

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