ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Monday decided to challenge former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s acquittal in Flagship Investments corruption reference.
The decision of filing an appeal against the accountability court’s decision was taken in a meeting presided over by NAB Chairman Justice (r) Javed Iqbal at the anti-graft agency’s headquarters in Islamabad. The meeting was attended by senior legal experts, concerned director generals and senior officials.
After detailed consultations, the meeting decided to challenge the accountability court’s verdict, while Justice (r) Iqbal directed the legal experts to challenge the court’s verdict.
While reading out the short order, Accountability Judge Arshad Malik on Monday said that there was no case against Nawaz in the Flagship reference.
In Al-Azizia reference, the former premier was sentenced to seven years in prison for corruption. The conviction, centred on family businesses in the Middle East, is his second stemming from a corruption investigation spurred by the Panama Papers leak and comes as Prime Minister Imran Khan has vowed to tackle endemic graft in Pakistan. Sharif, a three-time prime minister, has denied all the charges against him. He was taken into custody and will be sent to Kot Lakhpat prison in Lahore, and was also fined Rs3.47 billion ($25 million).