LAHORE:
- No family member to appear before bureau till SC decides review petition
- Anticorruption watchdog likely to file case in SC
Members of the Sharif family once again failed to appear before National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in Lahore on Sunday in connection with the investigation into a reference related to the Sharifs’ Avenfield properties in London.
The six-member team of NAB Lahore was waiting for Sharifs to question them over the London properties on Sunday.
The team headed by NAB Lahore Director General Shehzad Saleem had summoned Hassan, Hussain Nawaz, Maryam Safdar and Captain (retired) Safdar by 2pm.
Earlier, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif his family members had already refused to appear before the investigation team of NAB till the Supreme Court decides review petitions.
Sharif family had sent a response to NAB through their legal team, informing the anticorruption watchdog that the Sharif family would decide whether or not to appear before NAB once its petitions are decided by the apex court.
The NAB was conveyed the message in writing by the legal team of the Sharif family.
“My client Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif has been apprised of the above-cited notice today and instructed me to convey his inability to appear before the Combined Investigation Team as has already filed a review petition against the judgment dated 28.07.2017,” read the letter.
Supreme Court had directed NAB to file four references with accountability courts within six weeks’ time.
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 sources said, “The NAB plans to send notices thrice to the ruling family failing which the NAB would move to take the accused into custody by invoking Section 24 of the NAB law.”
In its July 28 verdict, the Supreme Court had ruled to send references against Nawaz Sharif, his children Maryam, Hussain and Hasan, son-in-law Captain (retired) Safdar and Ishaq Dar to an accountability court.
In its order, the five-member-bench requested the chief justice of Pakistan to nominate a judge of the Supreme Court to supervise and monitor implementation of the judgment and oversee proceedings of NAB and the accountability court.
Meanwhile, according to some media reports, NAB has decided to send another notice to Sharifs, while filing a case in the Supreme Court that is likely to issue arrest warrants for the family members.
According to reports, the apex court would decide over the arrest of the family members.
The accused would be declared proclaimed offenders, while their properties would be seized if they are not arrested.
