Court again summons Sharif cousins over loan default
- By Abid Khan -
- Aug 13, 2020
LAHORE: A banking court on Thursday once again directed the cousins of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif to appear in person in a case against them for allegedly defaulting on bank loans.
Judge Ziaul Qamar directed Shahid Shafi, Tariq Shafi, Javed Shafi, Ali Pervaiz and Ibrahim Tariq to appear in court on Oct 1.
A lawyer, who represented different banks, stated that the case instituted against the accused persons for allegedly defaulting on loans worth Rs700 million obtained for Ittifaq and Kashmir sugar mills.
It was submitted that the former premier’s cousins were served multiple notices by the banks to pay back the loan but to no avail. The court, therefore, was requested to order action against them as per relevant laws.
On June 30, an accountability court of Islamabad had started the process of declaring former premier Nawaz Sharif a proclaimed offender in a reference related to receiving luxury vehicles and gifts from Toshakhana.
A National Accountability Bureau (NAB) prosecutor submitted a compliance report to Accountability Judge Asghar Ali stating that the bureau forwarded arrest warrants against Sharif, who is in London, through the Foreign Office.
Observing that the PML-N supreme leader is not joining the trial proceedings intentionally, the judge issued directives for starting the process of declaring him a proclaimed offender over perpetual absence from the hearing.