NAB court did not return any reference. All four references against Sharif family and Ishaq accepted. National Accountability Bureau
By.Asghar Ali Mubarak
Islamabad-The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has stated that accountability court has accepted all four references against Sharif family and Ishaq. Earlier, it was reported that registrar office of accountability court completed the scrutiny of NAB’s references against Sharif family and Ishaq Dar and declared them as ‘incomplete’. The registrar, after initial scrutiny of the documents, declared incomplete the reference of the Aziza Steel Mills case. The registrar office asks NAB to attach the essential documents, following which the reference, along with the other three, will be forwarded to the accountability court judge. The Sharif family and Dar can face up to 14 years imprisonment, heavy fines, and freezing of property if the accountability courts rule that a violation of Section 9 of the NAB Ordinance 1999 has taken place as suggested in the report of the Panamá gate Joint Investigation Team (JIT). Moreover, the accused may also be disqualified from holding public office for life if found guilty. After the Supreme Court announced Sharif’s disqualification as prime minister, NAB was ordered to file references against the former PM, his children, son-in-law, and Dar. The bureau was given six weeks, from the date of the court’s order, to file the references in accountability courts. NAB’s Rawalpindi branch prepared references regarding the Azizia Steel Mills and the nearly dozen companies owned by the Sharif family. The bureau’s Lahore branch prepared a reference on the Sharif family’s Avenfield apartments in London and another against Dar for owning assets beyond his known sources of income.“It was decided to file four references in the accountability courts in Islamabad/Rawalpindi. The references were prepared on the basis of the material collected and referred to by the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) in its report and any other material collected by NAB during the course of investigation,” said a NAB “All references have been sent for trail by the court,” NAB spokesperson stated. The NAB spokesperson further stated that court did not return any reference. According to details, registrar office told NAB officials that provided documents have not copies of all references. Earlier, National Accountability Bureau (NAB) filed references against former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, his children, Hussain, Hassan, Maryam Nawaz, son-in-law Captain (r) Safdar and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar in accountability court, Islamabad .The NAB prosecution team reached at registrar office with documents consist of more than 400 pages regarding references. The references are related to London properties, Azizia Steel Mill and offshore companies. Reference against Ishaq Dar is being filed under Section 14-C which deals with holding assets more than apparent income. While References against Nawaz Sharif are being filed under Section 9-A which deals with hiding assets and giving gifts. All sub sections of 9A are being mentioned in the reference against Nawaz Sharif under which he can be imprisoned for 14 years. Furthermore, references against Maryam Nawaz are being filed related to filing fake documents and distorting the investigation process. Under Section 31-A accused can face three-year jail. The references were approved at a much-awaited meeting of NAB’s executive board presided over by its Chairman Qamar Zaman Chaudhry on other day.At least 12 cartons full of documents from NAB’s regional offices were brought by the prosecution team amidst tight security for submitting them in Islamabad’s accountability court-I and II. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) filed four corruption references against former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, his three children and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar in compliance with the Supreme Court verdict in the Panama Papers case on July 28.No decision was taken about the possible arrest of the Sharif family members and putting their names on the Exit Control List (ECL) as the NAB chairman had reportedly refused to do so. Usually, the anti-graft watchdog itself issues arrest orders for the accused even in petty white-collar crime cases. However, the ball is in the judges’ court now and they can order the arrest of the former prime minister and his children and even Dar.
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The SC had ordered NAB to file a reference against Nawaz, Maryam, Hussain, Hasan and Capt (r) Safdar, relating to the Avenfield properties (flats 16, 16-A, 17 and 17-A Avenfield House, Park Lane, London, United Kingdom).
“In preparing and filing this Reference, the NAB shall also consider the material already collected during the course of investigations conducted earlier, as indicated in the detailed judgments,” the court ruled.
The court also ordered the filing of a reference against Nawaz, Hussain and Hasan regarding the Azizia Steel Company and Hill Metal Establishment.
The court had also called for filing a reference against Dar for possessing assets and funds beyond his known sources of income.
The SC also ordered NAB to include in its proceedings all other persons, including Sheikh Saeed [nephew of Dar’s wife], Musa Ghani [son of a retired officer from London Stock Exchange], Kashif Masood Qazi [Nawaz’s friend], Javaid Kiyani, and National Bank of Pakistan President Saeed Ahmed, who have any direct or indirect nexus or connection with the actions of Nawaz, Hussain, Hasan, Maryam and Dar, leading to acquisition of assets and funds beyond their known sources of income.
A reference was also ordered against Nawaz, Hussain and Hasan regarding the companies mentioned in paragraph nine of the judgment in the Panama Papers case.
The court also gave NAB the option to file supplementary reference(s) “if and when any other asset, which is not prima facie reasonably accounted for, is discovered”.
