The court rejected Sharif's applications which he submitted through his counsel Khawaja Haris to exempt him from the personal appearance before the anti-graft court and adjourned hearing till November 3. Sharif has not submitted surety bonds in the Flagship investment references and Ali-Azizia Steel Mills reference whereas he has submitted Rs 5 million surety bonds in the court in the Avenfield reference.
Maryam Nawaz and Captain Muhammad Safdar (retd), accused in the Avenfield reference, arrived in the court amid tight security arrangements. When the Accountability Court judge Muhammad Bashir began the hearing of the three corruption references, Sharif's counsel Khawaja Haris submitted three applications, seeking a seven-day exemption for his client from personal appearance in the anti-graft court.
In the applications, Nawaz Sharif through his counsel said that he has not been able to return to Pakistan because of his wife's medical treatment. Nawaz was all set to leave for Pakistan from Saudi Arabia when he came to know that his wife was being readmitted to the hospital, he said.
Haris said that Sharif's wife was to be administered, inter alia, blood transfusion and needed her husband's full support and presence for at least a few days after blood transfusion. He further said that in such a situation the applicant has been constrained to stay back to perform Umrah in the name of his ailing wife and pray for her recovery before leaving Saudi Arabia to London to be with his wife at this critical stage of her treatment.
In the absence of former prime minister, advocate Zafir Khan Tareen, his pleader, has undertaken to appear on applicant's behalf on October 26, the counsel said, while praying the court to grant exemption from personal appearance to the applicant for a further period of seven days, commencing October 26. He further informed the court that Tareen would represent Sharif as his pleader during the period of exemption from his personal hearing.
While opposing Sharif's exemption pleas, Deputy Prosecutor General NAB Sardar Muzaffar said the court has earlier given a 15-day exemption to the applicant which had been expired on October 24, 2017. "The court had given a 15-day time to the accused and now he must be present in the court," he said, adding that the accused has deliberately been not appearing before the court again and again; therefore, the court rejects his plea for exemption from his personal appearance and issues his arrest warrant.
Another NAB Special Prosecutor Afzal Qureshi told the court in a loud tone that the Sharif's counsel is submitting applications just to prolong the case. The accused is taking the court easy; therefore, arrest warrant of the accused Sharif be issued. To this, the judge asked the NAB prosecutor to tone down while arguing before the court, adding that this is a courtroom and not a public gathering to whom you are addressing to.
The judge also stopped the NAB prosecutor from commenting over Sharif's exemption pleas and advised him to raise legal point instead. Insofar as accused and the NAB are concerned, the anti-graft judge further said he has no relationship with either; therefore, all the proceedings in the court will be held in accordance with law. After hearing the arguments of both the prosecution and defence counsel, the judge stopped the proceedings for 10 minutes.
After a short break, when the hearing resumed, the court while rejecting Sharif's pleas related to his personal exemption, the judge said that former prime minister is being given last chance to appear before the court on November 3 and if he failed to attend the hearing then non-bailable arrest warrants will be issued against him.
The court did not record the statements of two prosecution witnesses - Sidra Mansoor of Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) and Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Jahangir Ahmad - as witnesses could not testify their statements in the absence of accused Nawaz Sharif. Talking to the media persons, Maryam criticized judiciary for inaction against former President Pervez Musharraf, and claimed that discrimination is being meted out to her father, while the former president was given a safe exit. "No one has the courage to punish Musharraf, who left the county on the pretext of backache," she said.
Maryam said that proofs against the Sharif family were not being searched out but being "prepared". In response to 'VIP accountability' impression, she asked: "We are appearing in the court, despite our mother's ill health and father's questionable disqualification so how could this be termed a VIP accountability?"
In her indirect reference to Musharraf, she said the VIP accountability was held when the vehicle of an accused turned around halfway and the accused landed in a hospital. Asked whether the government will issue red warrants against Musharraf, she said, "Our government, our government, its better I stay silent, neither I, nor you are so naive." No matter how weak, every democratic government should complete its tenure, she added.
She clarified that reports of differences within the Sharif family are only present in the media and have no significance even if someone has said something.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2017