ISLAMABAD: Ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law retired Captain Muhammad Safdar on Wednesday appeared before an accountability court for the trial proceedings in the references filed against them.
The former premier along with his daughter reached the court from Punjab House amid tight security, while Safdar reached there separately.
The prosecution team of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) produced two more witnesses in the first hearing of the three references against the Sharif family after the winter holidays.
As Judge Muhammad Bashir resumed the hearing, the NAB prosecution team presented two witnesses – an official of Inland Revenue department Muhammad Tasneem and NAB’s assistant director Zawar Manzoor – to testify against the ruling family.
Tasneem told the judge that he provided verified income and wealth tax record of Sharif, and his sons to NAB officials in presence of investigation officer Jehangir Ahmed.
Whereas, Manzoor testified against the Sharif family in the Avenfield reference.
After they recorded their statements, defence counsel Khawaja Haris cross-examined them.
The hearing was adjourned till January 9.
The court has so far recorded testimonies of eleven witnesses against the Sharif family. At the previous hearing, the accountability judge recorded statements of three witnesses.
Prosecution witness NAB’s additional director Shakeel Anjum Nagra told the court that he received attested/certified copies of the JIT report from the apex court and handed them over to the NAB.
Yasir Shabbir, an official of the Muslim Commercial Bank, told the judge that he provided record of several transactions of the former premier to the bureau. When cross-examined, he said he did not see any irregularities in these transactions.
Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Afaq Ahmed submitted the letter of Qatari prince Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabar Al Thani, which was earlier provided to a Supreme Court-sanctioned joint investigation team that probed the Sharif family’s wealth.
