The accountability court hearing Al-Azizia corruption reference against Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday ordered the prosecution to record the former prime minister’s statement on the next hearing, a private TV channel reported.
National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Prosecutor Wasiq Malik informed the court that the watchdog has completed presenting its evidence against the accused in the reference.
A total of 22 witnesses were produced before the court since October last year, following Nawaz’s indictment in the Al-Azizia/Hill Metal Establishment reference.
Copies of the Supreme Court verdicts dated April 20 and July 28 have also been submitted in the court, the prosecutor said. Khawaja Harris, Nawaz’s lead counsel, objected to the prosecutor’s remarks stating that the April 20 verdict was not related to Al-Azizia reference. An older verdict is no longer relevant after another ruling is announced by the apex court, he contended.
It is worth mentioning here that the accountability court has until November 17 to wrap up the remaining two corruption references – Al-Azizia and Flagship Investments – against the Sharif family.
Published in Daily Times, October 31st 2018.
