NAB files four references against Sharif family, Dar

ISLAMABAD: National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Friday filed three references against Sharif family members and one against Finance Minister Ishaq Dar in the Islamabad accountability court. 

The references were filed by the NAB’s prosecution team under supervision of its Deputy Prosecutor General along with relevant documents.

The decision of filing references was taken after getting go-ahead by the Executive Board of anti-graft body in a meeting yesterday.

Three references were filed against former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, his children and son-in-law under Section 9A of NAB Ordinance 1999 along with its 14 sub-clauses.

The cited section of the ordinance is about transferring assets through illegal means.

Section 31A has also been incorporated in a reference against deposed PM’s daughter Maryam Nawaz for impeding the probe into the family’s offshore properties, who could face imprisonment for three years.

Another reference was registered against Finance Minister Ishaq Dar in compliance with the Supreme Court’s landmark verdict in the Panamagate case under Section 14C for  possessing assets beyond the known sources of his income.

Sharif family members and Dar could face up to 14 years imprisonment, hefty penalties, and freezing of their properties if the accountability court rules that a violation of mentioned sections of the NAB Ordinance 1999 has taken place as suggested in the report compiled by Panamagate Joint Investigation Team (JIT).

According to informed sources, the accountability court can disqualify the public representatives and impose lifetime ban on contesting elections and holding public offices over violation of NAO’s referred sections.

A five-judge bench of Supreme Court of Pakistan on July 28 announced a judgment in Panamagate case, disqualifying Nawaz Sharif as Prime Minister.

Soon after the SC judgement, the PM House issued a terse statement saying that Nawaz Sharif, despite having reservations on the court verdict, has stepped down from his post as the premier.

Sharif served as prime minister twice in the 1990s before he was ousted in a 1999 coup leading to a decade of exile. He won a third term as prime minister in May 2013 general election.