ISLAMABAD: The accountability court hearing corruption references against ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Friday said his petition seeking to club the three corruption references against him into a single case was dismissed because all three cases comprise different charges and only two witnesses are common in the three cases, contrary to claims made by Nawaz’s legal team.
Accountability Court-I Judge Mohammad Bashir released the nine-page order, which had earlier been delivered verbally during the hearing on Nov 8.
Nawaz, along with his family members, is facing three corruption references — Avenfield properties case, Azizia Steel Mills and Hill Metal Establishment case, and Flagship Investment Ltd — filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) after his disqualification by the Supreme Court in July.
In the order, the court ruled that the three references comprise different charges, as opposed to the petitioner’s claim that the accusations are the same. Moreover, the judge stated that only two witnesses are common among the three references, denying another assertion by Nawaz in his petition.
The judge also remarked that the petitioner wanted to make things easier for himself by getting the three references clubbed.
At the last hearing on November 8, the court had announced its decision dismissing Nawaz’s plea seeking the clubbing of the three references.
A day earlier, the judge had reserved his decision on the plea, which had earlier been rejected by the court but was re-heard on the order of the Islamabad High Court.
Nawaz and his two sons, Hussain and Hasan, are nominated in all three references whereas his daughter Maryam and her husband are only accused in one.
Nawaz’s sons, who live outside the country and run businesses, have not appeared in court for a single hearing since the trial began in September.
They will soon be declared proclaimed offenders after failing to appear in court despite issuance of non-bailable arrest warrants.
The next hearing of the case against Nawaz, Maryam and son-in-law MNA Capt (r) Muhammad Safdar is on Nov 15.