CJP rejects Nawaz’s plea to club corruption cases

• Accountability court dismisses deposed premier’s plea seeking exemption from personal appearance

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar rejected on Wednesday former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s plea to club the three corruption cases against him into one as the accountability court issued a complete verdict on a petition filed by the Sharifs, seeking an exemption from personal appearance before the court.

Nawaz, disqualified by the Supreme Court on July 28 last year in the Panama Papers case, had filed a petition in the apex court seeking to merge the three National Accountability Bureau (NAB) references against him.

That petition had been rejected by the Supreme Court Registrar, after which Nawaz filed an appeal before the chief justice.

Hearing the appeal in his chamber Wednesday, Chief Justice Nisar rejected the plea.

Nawaz had first moved the apex court with the request on October 13. However, the registrar had rejected the petition, after which an appeal was filed with the chief justice.

In an in-camera hearing on November 16, Chief Justice Nisar had dismissed the appeal.

On Dec 2, Nawaz moved the Supreme Court again to consider the clubbing of the three references.

The petition appealed to the apex court to consider the objections raised by the registrar and create a new bench to hear the petition.

It had stated that if a verdict is challenged, then the court has to restart proceedings on the matter and pleaded the court to consider void its ruling on clubbing the references.

In light of the Supreme Court’s verdict, NAB filed three corruption references — Al Azizia Steel Mills and Hill Metals Establishment, Avenfield properties, and offshore companies including Flagship Investment Ltd — against Nawaz and his family in the accountability court.

‘AILMENT OF NAWAZ’S WIFE CANNOT BE MADE BASIS FOR APPEARANCE EXEMPTION’

Meanwhile, the accountability court here on Wednesday issued a detailed verdict on a plea seeking an exemption from personal appearance before the court, filed by the Sharif family members in a graft reference.

“An exemption from personal appearances on grounds of Begum Kulsoom Nawaz’s ailment couldn’t be justified,” Accountability Judge Mohammad Bashir wrote. Similarly, the judge has ruled that going to London to finalise counsel for the recording of witnesses’ statements from there can also not be made a basis for exemption.

The plea was filed during a trial on Feb 15 in three corruption references, namely Al-Azizia Steel Mills, Flagship Investments and Avenfield, against former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law MNA Capt (r) Muhammad Safdar.

Sharif’s counsel then pleaded the judge to grant his client a permission to visit his ailing wife in London by exempting the three from personal appearance before the court from February 19 to March 5.

At last hearing, NAB Deputy Prosecutor General Muzaffar Abbasi opposed the plea and contended that the Supreme Court’s deadline to wrap up the case is approaching, as he said, the month of March is nearing.

According to Kulsoom’s medical report, submitted in court at the last hearing, six cycles of the chemotherapy have been completed and the ailment has been contained to an extent.

Radiotherapy has been advised to limit the risk of cancer in the future, it states further.

The next hearing of the case will take place on February 22.