Prosecution failed to prove dependency of Nawaz's children, says Haris

ISLAMABAD: Nawaz Sharif's lawyer Khawaja Haris, while concluding his final arguments in the Avenfield properties reference against the Sharif family, Wednesday said the prosecution failed to prove that Nawaz Sharif's children were dependent on the former premier.

Nawaz and his family are facing three corruption cases in the accountability court after the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) filed references against them in light of the Supreme Court's verdict in the Panama Papers case last year.

During the hearing, Haris said the prosecution failed to prove that Nawaz's children were dependent on him, noting that the Panama case joint investigation team (JIT) head Wajid Zia also said that there was no evidence of dependence of Nawaz's children on him.

The defence counsel said that Zia also admitted that Mian Sharif gave pocket money to Nawaz's children.

He said that his client did not need to defend himself, adding, "Prove just one thing against us and then we would present our defence."

Haris, in his concluding arguments, said that it was a case of acquittal for no testimony had been presented in it.

Prior to that, the defence lawyer read the content of the NAB notice sent to Nawaz on August 18, 2017, in the court. He informed the court that his client had never refused to respond to a NAB notice.

The notice asked his client to appear for verification of the statement given to the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) probing the Panama Papers case, Haris informed the court. He added that Nawaz had given a statement to the investigation team in his defence.

"We did not tell the NAB that we did not want to respond to the notice," the lawyer contended, adding that the first notice sent by the anti-graft body was to inquire the accused of their defence.

Furthermore, Nawaz's lawyer informed the court that a detailed response to the notice had been sent to the NAB.

"Why were we being asked for defence [by the NAB]?" Haris asked the court. He said that the anti-graft body had not conducted an investigation.

The prosecution itself admitted that there was no option available for filing a reference, he said.

Haris said the points that could have benefitted the accused were not touched by the investigation committee, maintaining that there was a link between the Qatari letters and transactions.

The defence lawyer said that the JIT did not clearly explain the relevant record in the letters written to the Qatari royal family.

Haris then thanked the court for the conclusion of his arguments, while NAB prosecutor Sardar Muzaffar also congratulated the defence counsel for completing arguments in the case.

Maryam Nawaz's lawyer Amjad Pervez will begin with his final arguments in the case tomorrow.

The cases

The trial against the Sharif family had commenced on September 14, 2017.

The corruption references, filed against the Sharifs, pertain to the Al-Azizia Steel Mills and Hill Metal Establishment, offshore companies including Flagship Investment Limited, and Avenfield properties of London.

Nawaz and his sons, Hussain and Hasan, are accused in all three references whereas his daughter Maryam and son-in-law Safdar are accused in the Avenfield reference only.

The two brothers, based abroad, have been absconding since the proceedings began last year and were declared proclaimed offenders by the court.

The court originally had a deadline of six months which ended in mid-March but was extended for two months after the judge requested the apex court.

Later, the deadline was extended twice more, with the new date falling somewhere around July 10 now.