Avenfield case: Nawaz, Maryam fail to appear before court

ISLAMABAD: An accountability court of Islamabad on Monday granted exemption to former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz from personal appearance after their failure to turn up owing to bad weather.

As Judge Muhammad Bashir resumed the hearing of the Avenfield properties case against the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Quaid and his daughter, their lawyer informed the court that they couldn’t reach Islamabad from Lahore owing to bad weather.

Advocate Amjad Pervez, thus, requested the judge to grant them exemption from personal appearance during today’s trial proceedings.

The former premier’s son-in-law retied Captain Muhammad Safdar, however, was in attendance in the court.

The counsel, who represented Maryam in the case, resumed cross-examination of prosecution witness Wajid Zia, the head of the Panama Joint Investigation Team (JIT) that probed the Sharif family’s offshore assets.

As per Avenfield Properties reference, Sharif, his brood and his son-in-law, retired Captain Mohammad Safdar, had purchased four flats in Park Lane, UK, without legitimate financial means.

After Nawaz’s counsel, Khawaja Haris, completed cross-examination of Zia last week, Pervez cross examining the key witness of the case.