During the hearing, Khawaja Haris told the court that NAB prepared whole reference on basis of Joint Investigation Team (JIT) report of Panama Papers case while the JIT has failed to present the names of the witnesses in the report. He said Nawaz Sharif is not the real owner of the assets and despite this fact the court sentenced him to prison, besides imposing heavy fine. Subsequently, the court issued notices to NAB and deferred the hearing for three weeks.
Sharif was sentenced to seven years in prison by an accountability court in Al-Azizia reference and fined Rs 1.5 billion. He was acquitted in Flagship corruption reference. In its appeal against Sharif's acquittal in Flagship reference, the NAB has contended that the court's acquittal of the former premier was not justified. The anti-corruption watchdog had argued that Sharif was found guilty with all charges against him proven and the seven-year jail term awarded in Al-Azizia reference was not enough and should be increased.
The IHC, earlier on Monday, heard NAB's appeals along with appeals filed by Sharif against Al-Azizia verdict and suspension of his sentence. Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani heard all four cases - Nawaz versus the State through the NAB chairperson, NAB chairperson versus Nawaz, NAB versus Nawaz and Nawaz versus NAB - on Monday and adjourned the hearings for three weeks.
Earlier, the court accepted a separate petition by Nawaz's counsel to submit additional documents in the petition seeking suspension of punishment in the Al-Azizia reference.
The petition stated that witnesses' testimonies and NAB documents submitted in the trial court should also be made part of the record of the case.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders Khawaja Asif, Raja Zafarul Haq, Pervez Rasheed and Marriyum Aurangzeb also attended the hearing.