ISLAMABAD : Disgraced premier Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law Captain (Rted) Mohammad Safdar were released from Adiala prison on Wednesday evening after the Islamabad High Court suspended their sentences in the Avenfield corruption reference.
A two-member bench, comprising Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb, gave the judgment on petitions filed by Sharifs challenging the Avenfield verdict against them. The IHC also ordered the accused to submit surety bonds worth Rs 0.5 million each.
The Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz loyalists bowed down in gratitude before Allah Almighty as soon as Justice Athar Minallah suspended the conviction of Sharifs in the short verdict in packed courtroom no. 3. The former PM, his daughter and son-in-law remained imprisoned at Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail for 68 days.
The august court accepted the appeals filed by the former ruling family and consequently the accused would no more be incarcerated till the court announces the final verdict on the appeals.The petitions were filed by the Sharif family against their conviction in the Avenfield reference filed by the National Accountability Bureau in line with the Panama papers case verdict.
Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was sentenced to 10 years in jail, his daughter Maryam was sentenced to seven years while son-in-law Captain (r) Safdar was sentenced to one year in prison by the accountability court Judge Muhammad Bashir on July 6. They accused were imprisoned in the Adiala jail after Nawaz Sharif and his daughter returned to the country from London.
The National Accountability Prosecutor Akram Qureshi kicked off his arguments before a two-member bench on Wednesday which grilled him to establish the association of Nawaz Sharif with the London flats – the Avenfield flats tucked in British capital’s Mayfair neighbourhood. At the start of the hearing, Justice Athar Minallah grilled the NAB prosecutor and inquired about the age of Maryam Nawaz in 1993. ‘Your case is based on the assumption that the actual owner of London flats is Nawaz Sharif instead of Maryam Nawaz,’ observed the court.
The two-member bench remarked that according to the investigations, the ownership of London flats is difficult to be attributed to former premier Nawaz Sharif. The NAB prosecutor argued that there was no proof regarding the transfer of 12m AED adding that till 2012, Maryam Nawaz was the beneficial owner of the said properties.
‘Nawaz Sharif is difficult to be traced in the case,’ remarked Justice Athar Minallah and wondered if the trust deed was bogus, how could the sentence be handed out to the accused. The NAB prosecutor continued that the onus of proof rests with the accused as they should establish ownership of the pricey flats.(With Agency Inputs ).