Hussain Nawaz says Broadsheet case in UK court 'a conspiracy that failed'

• Former premier's son says NAB and Broadsheet signed contracts solely to target the Sharifs.
  
• Hussain Nawaz says Broadsheet’s case for attachment of Sharif family flats "a conspiracy".
  
• "Our opponents keep lying and making allegations but when it comes to evidence they don’t have anything."
  

LONDON: Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s son Hussain Nawaz Sharif has said that the 'fact' that a UK High Court of Justice 'did not entertain' the application of assets recovery firm Broadsheet LLC for attachment of the Avenfield apartments is a 'vindication' of the Sharif family’s stance that they have "never done anything illegal and that the assets they have are clean".

Hussain Nawaz's statement follows highly publicised remarks made by Kaveh Moussavi, the owner of Broadsheet, in an interview to a London-based YouTube channel. Moussavi said during the interview that the reason his firm dropped the Avenfield case was because it found sufficient money in the Pakistan government’s accounts in the UK. 

Speaking to media in London, Hussain Nawaz said that assets recovery firm Broadsheet had argued in the London High Court that the four Avenfield apartments belong to the Government of Pakistan because accountability court Judge Muhammad Bashir had ruled so in a case pertaining to the matter.

Read more: Broadsheet LLC writes to NAB counsel in London seeking millions more

“When this matter went to the court, nothing worthwhile was found in the claim. It was established that the claim is not genuine. If the court had found any illegality in any jurisdiction or attached the flats as sought by Broadsheet, Imran Khan and his colleagues would have made a big hue and cry about it but Allah the Almighty is kind. He preserves the respect and dignity of people," Nawaz added.

He further said that Broadsheet’s main target was the Sharif family. “There were other individuals in the list of targets too but it’s a well-known fact that the prime target was Nawaz Sharif and his family."

"The London High Court has found that we have committed no violation of rules," he said, adding that "it’s been 20 years that they have been on our case but haven’t been able to find anything against the Sharifs". 

The former premier's son said that NAB and Broadsheet had signed contracts "solely to target the Sharifs" but then started fighting with each other. 

"The NAB has lost US$60 million to Broadsheet while pursuing us and finding nothing. This amount is much more than the total value of our assets,” he said.

Hussain said that when Broadsheet went to the London High Court against the Sharif family around two years ago, the lawyers for the Sharif family and the Broadsheet’s lawyer had exchanged evidence and communication with each other.

He said: “Our lawyers said from day one that this matter will not go further as it doesn’t have weight. Same is the issue in all cases against us.”

Read more: NAB - Broadsheet saga: Pakistan pays Rs4.59 bn to British firm for lost case

Hussain Nawaz claimed that Broadsheet’s case in London High Court for the attachment of Sharif family flats was a conspiracy. 

“The plot has been similar to what has been happening in Pakistan when the Iqama decision was made and then the late Judge Arshed Malik was blackmailed to convict Nawaz Sharif. Now the reality of the case against the Sharif family in London has been exposed too. We were vindicated at the Interpol too when the government approached authorities there because there is nothing in the politically motivated cases against us,” he said.

He said that the Sharifs' opponents have been making tall claims about their alleged corruption but when it comes to giving evidence at the independent courts they fail.

"Our opponents keep lying and making allegations but when it comes to evidence they don’t have anything," he added.