After no-show, NAB court again summons Sharif family on Sept 26
Sharif family members in London to be with Kulsoom Nawaz, Senator Kirmani tells court
September 19, 2017
ISLAMABAD: The accountability court hearing corruption cases against the Sharif family issued on Tuesday a second summons for the accused after they failed to appear at today's hearing.
As the hearing began, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) submitted an implementation report in court with regards to the summons issued to the accused.
Judge Mohammad Bashir was informed by the NAB prosecutor that the family's security officer at their Lahore residence received the summons.
The NAB prosecutor informed the court that the security officer said Hussain and Hasan Nawaz had instructed him not to accept the summons. He added that the summons was sent to the correct address.
The judge remarked that the summons was for the suspects and not the security officer. "Don't just get rid of the task by delivering the summons to the security in-charge next time and get the job done," the judge observed.
He said this is a criminal, not a civil court. "The security officer's statement should be on record if the summons was given to him." he added.
The judge also turned down the prosecutor's plea of issuing arrest warrants against the accused to ensure their presence in court.
The court was hearing the case of three references submitted by NAB against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, his sons Hussain and Hasan, daughter Maryam and son-in-law MNA Capt (retd) Safdar.
The court had summoned today the Sharif family members with regards to the references submitted against them in light of the Supreme Court's July 28 judgment in the Panama Papers case.
However, as of now, none of Nawaz's family members that were summoned today are present in the country.
The court then ordered for the issuance of another summons to the Sharif family and adjourned the hearing until September 26. The judge also ordered for the posting of the summons in front of the Sharif family's Lahore residences and directed the investigating officer to trace Hasan and Hussain's London addresses.
The judge also directed Senator Asif Kirmani, Nawaz's political adviser, who was present in court, that he should make the Sharif family members aware of the summons against them.
Speaking to the media after the hearing, Kirmani said the Sharif family received "some notices from NAB at their Lahore residence".
"Once the notices got delivered to me in Islamabad yesterday, I considered it my moral duty to be present today and inform the honourable court of the unavailability of the Sharif family," he added.
Kirmani explained that the Sharif family, understandably, is in London where Kulsoom Nawaz is being treated [for lymphoma]. He added that he informed the judge of this as well.
In response to a question, Kirmani said he cannot give a date regarding the Sharif family's appearance in court as it all depends on Kulsoom Nawaz's recovery.
