NAB submits renewed references against Sharifs

‘Errors, objections removed’

ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Monday submitted the references against ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his sons, Hassan Nawaz and Hussain Nawaz, to the Islamabad’s Accountability Court after removing the objections raised by the court’s registrar office on September 8.

NAB has also filed additional documents pertaining to London flats along with the reference filed under Section 18-G of the NAB Ordinance 1999. The NAB has based references on the report of the six-member Joint Investigation Team (JIT), which probed the Panama Papers case, as per the order of the Supreme Court.

Talking to Pakistan Today, well-placed sources within NAB said that in the reference regarding Avenfield flats, NAB was supposed to submit five copies of the reference whereas only three were submitted earlier. Only two extra pages were added to the references.

The references are already interim references and NAB has been directed to add any further proofs whenever available. NAB is awaiting the replies to the letters they have written to MLAs. Some of the documents, that were with NAB and made available from FIA, they were submitted with the references, sources added.

Earlier, the registrar office had raised objections over the references, stating that the references were incomplete. It had returned the references and asked the NAB prosecution team to re-file. On Thursday, the NAB’s executive board had given the approval to file the references.

Meanwhile, a private TV channel has reported that the registrar’s office, where the process of scrutiny of the references against the Sharif family continues, has found errors in references pertaining to the Sharif family’s Avenfield apartments and Azizia Steel Mills.

Many pages of the references do not have page numbers mentioned and some of them have the wrong number printed, and some documents are extra and some necessary documents were not attached, stated the channel. The court has given the registrar office till September 14 to completely scrutinise the documents.

Talking to Pakistan Today, NAB spokesperson Asim Ali Nawazish said that NAB has submitted references within the time of six weeks and has done best of it to be precise and accurate.

The court has given the registrar office till September 14 to completely scrutinise the documents.