NAB summons Sharif family today, says non-appearance to imply they have no defence

LAHORE: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has summoned ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his children – Hussain, Hassan and Maryam Nawaz – to appear before it in connection with probe into the family’s London flats, ARY News reported.

In the fresh notice, the anti-graft watchdog has asked the Sharif family members to show up before it today to record their statements, otherwise it would be construed the family has nothing more to say in their defence.

This is the third time Nawaz Sharif, his sons – Hussain and Hassan  Nawaz – have been summoned, whereas the NAB has issued summons to Maryam Nawaz and her spouse retired Capt Muhammad Safdar for the second time.

On Aug 20, an investigation team of the NAB summoned Sharif, his sons, daughter and her husband to appear before its Lahore office and it awaited their arrival until 2:00 pm, but they did not turn up.

Headed by director general Saleem Shahzad, the team has launched an investigation into the family’s flats in a posh London neighborhood.

Read Also: NBP chief Saeed Ahmed appears before NAB for probe into Sharif’s offshore flats

Earlier on Aug 18, the anti-graft body had summoned Nawaz Sharif, his sons – Hussain and Hassan Nawaz – for investigation into the Al-Azizia Steel Mills case, the first of many cases that it would investigate. However, they failed to show up.

Later in the day, Amjad Pervaiz, the counsel for the Sharif family, filed a written reply with the NAB’s office in Lahore, maintaining that Sharif had filed three appeals in the apex court seeking review of his disqualification by the court and stay on further implementation of the verdict. The counsel said his clients will not appear until the court decides these appeals.

Nawaz Sharif has also approached the Supreme Court challenging his disqualification verdict and seeking a stay order against further implementation of the verdict and filing of references against him and other family members by NAB.

On July 28, a five-member bench of the Supreme Court had disqualified Nawaz Sharif in a unanimous verdict in the Panamagate case, for concealing his salary from a Dubai-based company, and cutting short his third stint in power.

As part of the verdict, the Supreme Court had directed NAB to file references within six weeks based on the findings of the Joint Investigation Team constituted by the court to investigate their offshore assets.

The Sharif family seems to be using delaying tactics over the eventual retirement of incumbent NAB chairman in October after the anti-graft watchdog would become effectively dysfunctional.