Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif has decided not to appear before the investigation team of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and it has been decided in principle that no family member of the ruling family would appear before the NAB investigators till the Supreme Court decides review petitions.
Supreme Court had directed NAB to file four references with accountability courts within six weeks’ time. A well-placed source in the ruling party told Pakistan Today that the former premier had adopted a defiant stance against the NAB investigation and decided no family member would appear before the NAB.
The source said that Sharif family had sent a response to NAB through their legal team, informing the anticorruption watchdog the Sharif family would decide whether or not to appear before NAB once its petitions are decided by the apex court.
The source said that Sharif family has been advised not to become a part of the investigation as the NAB had been asked to initiate cases under a biased plan of witch-hunt and victimisation.
Meanwhile, NAB sources said that the Sharif family would again be summoned for appearance and notices would be sent for next week to the Sharif family. The source said, ‘The NAB plans to send notices thrice to the ruling family failing to which the NAB would move to take the accused into custody by invoking Section 24 of the NAB law’.
“NAB plans to send notices to former prime minister thrice. This would be the same method which was adopted in the case of former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani,” the source added.
The source said the NAB has formed two teams to investigate the cases against the ruling family. NAB Rawalpindi Director Rizwan Ahmed would oversee the entire investigation into the cases related to Sharif family. NAB Lahore DG Maj (retd) Shehzad Saleem would monitor the investigation against Ishaq Dar.
A NAB official, while talking to Pakistan Today, said that NAB would issue three notices before issuance of WOA as per SOP.
‘WOA is only issued if arrest of the accused is necessary for filing of reference and collection of evidence. Reference may be filed without the arrest of the accused’, he added.
He said that JIT report’s Vol X was under scrutiny. ‘Vol X generally consists of MLA (Mutual legal assistance) sent to UAE, KSA, British Virgin Islands and result of all are still awaited. Negative or nil results may ultimately benefit the accused persons’.
He said that next time the accused may be called at NAB Rawalpindi office. Banking Experts have been requisitioned by NAB.
Sharif family lawyer Khawaja Haris on Friday appeared before the NAB team and took the stance that they were not going to appear as review was pending before the apex court.
The source said that Ishaq Dar has been summoned by NAB for recording his statement on August 23. Asked whether the case of Dar was of the same nature like Sharif, the NAB official said that the case of Senator Ishaq Dar was different.
“Dar faces allegations of assets beyond known source of income. Moreover, Dar has not filed review petition against the court verdict. So his case is of a different nature,” the official said.
Moreover, the source said NAB has also sought details of assets of Sharif family from Saudi Arabian government. NAB has also sought assets details from Security Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), the source added.
Another source in NAB said that the accountability watchdog plans to seek extension from the apex court in the deadline of six months as the non-cooperation from Sharif family may lead to delay in culmination of the references.
“Since NAB Chairman Qamar Zaman Chaudhry also is set to retire on October 9, 2017, after completion of his four-year tenure, the cases may further face delays. So the NAB is planning to seek extension in the deadline set by the apex court,” the source added.
Meanwhile, the NAB chairman chaired a meeting to review performance of all wings of NAB Headquarters. According to a NAB official, the NAB chief was briefed about the strategy of the bureau to prepare the references against Sharif family.
The official said that the chairman directed the NAB investigators to prepare the references with care so as the same could be pursued by the prosecution department. The source said that the prosecutors were also directed to pursue the references vigorously as per the direction of the court.
The source said that the NAB chairman was also briefed about the Sharif family’s decision to avoid appearance before the NAB investigators. The NAB chief also gave directions to handle the matter, the source added.