Nawaz’s son-in-law Capt (retd) Safdar was given a one year sentence.

Accountability Court-I Judge Mohammad Bashir announced the verdict today after several delays since morning.

Moreover, the court also sentenced Maryam to one year in prison for submitting false documents in court.

The court has also ruled that the Avenfield apartments of the Sharif family, in their possession since 1993, shall be seized by the federal government.

The Avenfield properties reference was one of three filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) last year in light of the Supreme Court’s verdict against Nawaz in the Panama Papers case. The reference pertains to the ownership of the Sharif family’s apartments at Avenfield House, London.

Maryam, Safdar barred from elections

Following the verdict, Maryam and Safdar stand barred from contesting the July general election from Lahore and Mansehra, respectively.

Following the verdict, the Election Commission of Pakistan stated that Maryam’s name will be removed from the ballot papers of the NA-127 constituency.

Moreover, after the hearing, NAB Deputy Prosecutor General Sardar Muzaffar Abbasi said the accused have 10 days to file an appeal against the verdict.

Today’s hearing

All eyes were set on the accountability court hearing the high-profile corruption cases against the former prime minister and his family. Strict security arrangements, including paramilitary personnel, were in place at the Federal Judicial Complex, where the court is located. The roads leading to the complex were also closed to traffic.

Moreover, the district administration had imposed Section 144 in the capital to discourage mass gatherings.

As the hearing went under way today, Judge Bashir heard Sharifs’ request, submitted on Thursday, requesting the trial court to postpone the verdict till he is back in the country next week.

After submitting Begum Kulsoom Nawaz’s medical report, Maryam’s counsel Amjad Pervez argued that the law stipulates the presence of the accused when the verdict is read out. After the prosecution opposed any delay at such a late stage of the trial, the judge reserved his verdict and adjourned the hearing for an hour.

Later, the court dismissed Sharifs’ plea and set 12:30pm as the time for announcing the verdict. However, that deadline was later extended thrice — 2:30pm, 3pm and 3:30pm — before it was finally read out after 4pm.

The judge had called lawyers of both sides inside his chambers and disallowed the media. He then stated that the media will be called in when the judgment is being read out.

Earlier, the judge, present inside his chamber, had issued the delay notices through the court staff but the 3:30 pm deadline was informed of by the judge himself. He explained that they have to make an appropriate number of photocopies of the judgment for distribution to the relevant parties.

Prior to the verdict, Maryam took to Twitter, urging the “PML-N’s lions” not to get unsettled no matter what the verdict.

“All of this is not new for your Nawaz Sharif, he has faced exile, disqualification, and life imprisonment [sentence] in the past,” she said further in the series of tweets.

Nawaz, Maryam hear verdict in Avenfield apartments

Reports from London stated that the former premier will hear the verdict at the Avenfield apartments along with Maryam and former finance minister Ishaq Dar, and then proceed to visit his ailing wife at Harley Street Clinic.

Nawaz and Maryam have been in London since June 14 tending to Nawaz’s wife Kulsoom, who is under medical treatment there, while Nawaz’s son-in-law, Capt (r) Safdar, was in Mansehra campaigning for the July 25 election.

Safdar vows to stand firm

Speaking to voters today, Safdar said he does not fear any verdict against him, adding that he will be exonerated in the court of public opinion.

On Tuesday, the court had reserved its verdict and ordered all accused to ensure their presence in court when the verdict is read out today.

Apart from Nawaz, Maryam and  Safdar, Nawaz’s sons are also accused in the case. They were declared proclaimed offenders last year owing to their no-show and will face a separate trial whenever they join the proceedings.

The accused have been charged as per the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999, according to which they face maximum jail terms of 14 years and/or a fine, each.

The trial

After the Supreme Court disqualified Nawaz in the Panama Papers case on July 28, 2017, the NAB, in light of the verdict, filed three corruption references against the Sharif family in the accountability court.

The trial against the Sharif family commenced on September 14, 2017, under the supervision of Supreme Court Justice Ijazul Ahsan, who was appointed a monitoring judge in the Panama case verdict.

During the course of the trial, spread over 107 hearings, a total of 18 prosecution witnesses recorded their statements, including the Panama case joint investigation team (JIT) head, Federal Investigation Agency’s Wajid Zia.

It was the Zia-led JIT’s report which the Supreme Court used last year as a basis for Nawaz’s disqualification and further investigation of the Sharif family’s assets.

After his statement was recorded, the defence counsels cross-examined Zia for around two weeks.

The prosecution also recorded statements of two witnesses through video-link from London — private solicitor Akhtar Raja and forensic expert Robert Radley — whose expertise was utilised by the JIT during its probe.

Nawaz and the other accused were asked 127 questions during their cross-examination, while no witnesses appeared in their defence.

Nawaz and Maryam attended 78 hearings, skipping a few proceedings as they visited London in between to spend time with Begum Kulsoom Nawaz.

Safdar, however, attended nearly all the proceedings.

The apex court had directed the trial court to conclude the cases in six months. However, the court has only concluded proceedings of the Avenfield reference despite two deadline extensions — the latest one being July 10.

The other two corruption references — Al-Azizia Steel Mills and Hill Metal Establishment and offshore companies including Flagship Investment Limited — have yet to conclude.

*This is a breaking news story and will be updated as details become available. 

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Accountability court judge Muhammad Bashir had reserved the judgement after proceedings of Avenfield reference against Sharif family were completed.

The court also ordered ex-PM and PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law Captain (r) Muhamamd Safdar to ensure their presence in the court today (Friday).

Judge Muhammad Bashir had also ordered the capital administration to make foolproof security arrangements in and outside the court.

The Islamabad administration keeping in view the court orders has imposed section 144 around the Judicial Complex.

There will be a complete ban on the assembly of more than 5 people outside the Judicial Complex, while 500 Rangers personnel and 1500 police personnel will also be deputed in and outside the complex.

On the other hand, the security of accountability court judge Muhammad Bashir has also been beefed up and the Rangers personnel will be deputed at the entrance of the Judicial Complex.

It is pertinent here to mention that Nawaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz and Cpt (r) Safdar are nominated in the Avenfield reference, while ex-PM’s sons Hassan Nawaz and Hussain Nawaz were declared absconders.

The Avenfield reference is one of three corruption references filed against the deposed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, his three children, son-in-law and former finance minister Ishaq Dar in compliance with the Supreme Court verdict in the Panama Papers case last year.

Sharif, his sons Hasan and Hussain, daughter Maryam, son-in-law Capt (retd) Mohammad Safdar and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar are facing multiple corruption references in the accountability court.

The Pakistan Supreme Court had, on July 28, disqualified Sharif from holding the office of the prime minister and asked the National Accountability Bureau to file references against the Sharif family in connection with corruption cases against them.

On the orders of the country s Supreme Court, a JIT was formed last year to probe the allegations on the Sharif family.

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Top PML-N defectors, including former interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and provincial minister Zaeem Qadri, are also contesting election on the Jeep symbol.

According to official final list of candidates in 120 constituencies of Punjab province, uploaded on the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) website on Wednesday, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has fielded the highest number of candidates in the province.

The former ruling party led by Nawaz Sharif has given tickets to 102 candidates while Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) of Imran Khan has awarded party tickets to 100 candidates in these 120 constituencies. The ECP has not uploaded the final list for 21 constituencies of the province in Lahore, Rajanpur and Rahimyar Khan owing to pending court cases, says the official portal.

Surprisingly, the newly-founded religious party Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan has also emerged as one of the biggest parties in the province in terms of candidates with 97 tickets awarded to its members.

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has fielded 98 contestants in these areas for the election 2018 in Punjab province alone.

A few days ago, more than 11 candidates of PML-N had returned their party tickets and sought the Jeep symbol from the ECP instead of their previous Tiger symbol.

The famous among the revolting members were Sardar Farood Amjad Khosa of DG Khan, Sardar Mohsin Hasan Khan, Usama Abdul Karim, Sher Ali Gorchani, and Sultan Mehmood Hunjar.

However, Ch Nisar on Tuesday disassociated himself from other independent candidates in Punjab contesting on the Jeep symbol. A day earlier PML-N leader Maryum Nawaz had alleged that the symbol of Jeep was becoming the symbol of “aliens”. Her father Nawaz Sharif had also questioned as to why candidates had been forced to “climb on jeep”. Maryum had tweeted that every vote for jeep is a vote for “Khalai Makhlooq” (aliens).

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The list contains names of candidates from each National and provincial assembly constituencies along with their residential address, electoral symbol and party affiliation, however the list doesn’t mention candidates from Lahore, Rajanpur and Rahim Yar Khan due to court cases.

According to the ECP, a total of 12,570 out of 21,482 candidates, who had filed nomination papers for both the National Assembly and four provincial assemblies, will contest in the upcoming general elections. The ECP list shows that 3,675 contestants are in the electoral race for the National Assembly whereas 8,895 for the provincial legislatures. Similarly, a total of 172 women are contesting for the National Assembly and 386 for provincial legislatures, along with 113 non-Muslims.

In a province-wise breakdown of statistics, as many as 1,696 contestants are left for the National Assembly constituencies from Punjab and 4,242 for the provincial legislature, including 1,623 for general seats of the NA and 4,036 general seats of the Punjab Assembly. Moreover, 73 women are in the run for NA and 174 for the provincial assembly of the largest province; whereas, 32 non-Muslims are also contesting the polls for representation in the provincial assembly.

In Sindh, as many as 872 are contesting for the National Assembly seats and 2,382 for the Sindh assembly, including 824 for general seats of NA and 2,252 for the provincial legislature. Similarly, 48 women will be contesting for NA seats and 91 for the provincial assembly seats in addition to 39 non-Muslims.

Final List of Contesting Candidates – Form33

• Punjab         |         (National Assembly   /   Provincial Assembly)
• Sindh           |         (National Assembly   /   Provincial Assembly)
• KPK             |          (National Assembly   /   Provincial Assembly)
• Balochistan  |        (National Assembly   /   Provincial Assembly)

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“Now, Imran Khan is my quaid,” Shah said as met PTI chairman Khan arrived at his residence in Islamabad.

“All of Pakistan is with Imran,” the former senator added.

Shah continued, “I want to fulfill my role as a politician.”

Stating that the country needs a leader like Imran, Shah said, “The PTI chief has destroyed several corruption deities within the nation.”

He further said, “Imran does not have a tainted past.”

Addressing his workers on the occasion, Imran said, “Shah left the PML-N as he did not want to support the party’s wrong policies.”

The PTI chief reiterated that the Avenfield reference verdict against Nawaz Sharif and his family should be announced tomorrow.

“The law is the same for everyone,” Imran stated adding that Nawaz’s request to delay the verdict in the case should not be adhered to.

Shah’s relations with PML-N leadership turned sour during the local bodies’ election of November 2015. The former senator wanted to become mayor of Islamabad and contested election from a Union Council.

However, some PML-N leaders supported an independent candidate who won the election and then joined PML-N.

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The PML-N president, whose party ruled the country for last five years, said that the PML-N government steered the country out of energy crisis and provided better roads, public transport and infrastructure, and if elected to power again, will resolve the water crisis.

The former chief minister Punjab, who rose to his party’s presidency after his elder brother’s disqualification, maintained that the party has a clear plan as it ruled the country and will now focus on betterment of health facilities, water reservoirs and reduction of poverty.

“Water is the greatest challenge we are facing. There is no use of crying over spilt milk. By constructing dams on water that is our share, India has flouted all laws and treaties which intensified the water challenge for us. We have to act & act fast to overcome this existential threat,” said Shehbaz Sharif.

The PML-N president added that the party’s planned construction of multipurpose Diamir Basha Dam will generate an electricity of 4500 MW besides storing over 6 million acre feet of water. The Nawaz government completed land acquisition for the project at the rate of Rs. 100 billion

“Diamer Basha dam is a matter of life and  death. It will not only meet our water needs but also trap flash floods & provide a longevity to Tarbela & Mangla dams. Even if I have to ask for  donation for the dam, I will do that. Almost 70% of work on the project will be completed in 5 years,” said Shehbaz Sharif.

About the health sector, he said that health reforms introduced by PML-N in Punjab are path-breaking. Latest machinery such as MRI, dialysis, & CT scan machines were installed & drug testing, forensic & pathology labs were set up, adding that Every DHQ hospital in Punjab has hepatitis filter clinic.

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NAB tightens noose around one of the country’s senior-most bureaucrats as the Director General (DG) NAB informed that Fawad Hassan Fawad has been arrested in three graft cases and questioning has been underway.

Three corruption cases against former premier Nawaz Sharif’s principal secretary involve Ashiana Housing Scheme, illegal employment in a private bank and unlawful transfer of nine CNG stations.

NAB has summoned the top civil servant 11 times in Ashiana Housing case so far; it was the fourth time that Fawad appeared before the NAB.

Fawad has served as the principal secretary of two former prime ministers, Nawaz Sharif and Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.

It is worth mentioning that former director general Land Development Authority (LDA) Ahad Cheema is also accused in Ashiana Housing Scheme case. An Accountability court (AC) on Wednesday extended the judicial remand of Ahad Cheema and other five suspects in the Ashiana Housing Scheme scandal till July 13.

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According to the report published in the Daily Mail, Avenfield House, which has been Sharif’s residence since 1993, was allegedly built after demolishing four high-end flats.

As per the report, Sharif and his family also purchased over 20 properties above the Avenfield flats itself.

It further claimed that Sharif’s Hyde Park home was sold for a whopping 43 million pounds, after the property was sold by his son, Hassan.

However, the report noted that the profits made from the sale were not disclosed in court.
And the former PM has refuted all these claims.

Apart from the Avenfield flats case, the Sharif family, including his sons Hasan and Hussain, daughter Maryam, son-in-law Capt (retd) Mohammad Safdar and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar are facing multiple corruption references in the accountability court.

The reports states that the Sharifs have for years moved their money in and out of Britain, Switzerland, the Middle East and the British Virgin Islands.

Rachel Davies Teka, of global anti-corruption group Transparency International, said that this is not just a tale of dirty politics and allegedly dirtier money in a foreign land, but money laundering has a devastating impact on the UK capital as well.

‘The flow of dirty money into the property market contributes to the wider issues of empty homes, and the distortion of developer priorities away from affordable housing and towards luxury properties,’ he said.

‘We have identified UK property worth £4.4 billion that has been bought by those representing a high money laundering risk. This is likely to be the tip of the iceberg.’

The Supreme Court of Pakistan on July 28 last year, had disqualified Sharif from holding the office of the prime minister and asked the National Accountability Bureau to file references against the Sharif family in connection with corruption cases against them.

Sharif’s main political rival Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan also referred to the article on Twitter, alleging that the former ruling family looted and laundered the nation’s wealth.

More on how the Pakistani nation’s wealth was looted through money laundering by corrupt rulers and their families. https://t.co/1Lu8bYA5wU

— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) June 24, 2018

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Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz has unveiled its initial list of ticket holders from Punjab. The list almost left the entire provincial assembly seats in Lahore and a number of those in the southern part of the province undecided.

According to the list, Maryam Nawaz will contest from NA-125 and PP-173, while Shahbaz Sharif would contest from NA-192 DG Khan and NA-132 Lahore.

Following are the details of the candidates for the National Assembly and the provincial assembly seats falling under the same.

The list will be updated accordingly.

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