Court resumes hearing of Avenfield properties case

ISLAMABAD: An accountability court resumed hearing of Avenfield properties case against former premier Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law Captain (retd) Safdar on Monday (today), filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

Judge Muhammad Bashir is presiding over the trial proceedings in the Avenfield properties reference in the federal capital.

Advocate Khawaja Haris, the lead counsel for Sharifs, is to resume cross-examination of star witness Wajid Zia, head of the Panama Joint Investigation Team (JIT).

During previous hearing, Wajid Zia submitted seven letters written to the UAE authorities under Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) for International Cooperation for information about the establishment and disposal of the Sharif family’s mills there.

To a question, he said he had brought seven MLA letters and a copy of clandestine Volume X of the JIT report. Harris disputed his claim, saying he has not brought the volume, but only MLA documents.

Zia said he approached the apex court to get the volume in question, but he was provided with the MLAs only.

Earlier, the judge directed the JIT head to approach the Supreme Court registrar’s office for provision of Volume X of the Panama JIT report.

The Volume X pertains to the JIT’s correspondence with foreign countries for Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) for a probe into the Sharif family’s wealth.

Zia told the court that Volume X was sealed by the apex court on a request of JIT and could be de-sealed when an application is filed with the apex court.

To a query, he said JIT wrote seven letters under the MLA to the UAE authorities for cooperation and information regarding the establishment and disposal of the Sharif family’s Gulf Steel Mills and Ahli Steel Mills.

When the counsel contradicted his claim, saying the JIT had written a few more letters, the JIT head said he had to check the record to ascertain this.