Capt Safdar admits being signatory of Nielsen and Nescoll

ISLAMABAD: The son-in-law of ousted premier Nawaz Sharif, Capt (retd) Muhammad Safdar testified before an accountability court on Tuesday, saying he signed the trust deeds of offshore companies – Nielsen and Nescoll – as a witness. 

While maintaining that he was the only signatory to the trust deeds of the companies, he seconded the stance of his wife Maryam Nawaz that she has never been the beneficial owner of the London flats and other mentioned companies. “My wife was only a trustee of Nielsen and Nescoll,” he added.

Safdar said that the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) report is irrelevant in this case and it cannot be included as part of evidence.

“JIT didn’t seal the copies of trust deeds in front of Maryam, so it is questionable that in what condition those documents may have been received by Radley laboratory for the forensic test?” Safdar remarked.

During hearing, he skirted several questions and said most of the questions are not related to him. The questions he claimed to be not linked with him were regarding the address of Nawaz Sharif in parliament, a Qatari letter, TV interviews of Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Nawaz and Maryam Nawaz, testimony of Tariq Shafi, letters of Mossack Fonseca and Samba Bank.

Safdar, who has also been nominated in the reference, began recording the statement after other two accused Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz completed their statement under Section 342 of the criminal procedure code (CrPC).

Safdar has so far answered 80 questions listed in the questionnaire prepared by the court. The court has adjourned hearing till tomorrow when it will resume recording his statement.

The Avenfield reference, pertaining to the Sharif family’s London properties, is among three references against the Sharif family filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) last year on the Supreme Court’s directives.