Nawaz Sharif to leave for London ahead of indictment in graft cases

LAHORE: Ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif will depart for London on Oct 5 (tomorrow) ahead of his impending indictment in graft references filed against him by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), ARY News reported.

The former prime minister will board a London-bound flight at 11:00 am tomorrow and is scheduled to return to Pakistan on Jan 4. His wife Kulsoom Nawaz is undergoing treatment for cancer in London. His children – Hussain, Hassan, Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law are already in London, looking after their mother.

Sharif had returned to the country earlier on Sept 25 after spending almost a month in London.

On Oct 2, the court had deferred the framing of charges against him and set Oct 9 new date for his indictment. It had issued non-bailable warrants for the arrest of his children over their perpetual absence from the proceedings.

On Tuesday, Sharif was re-elected unopposed as the president of PML-N party since no other party leader submitted nomination papers for the slot of the party president.

The former prime minister and members of his family are facing three graft references in connection with their flats in a posh London neighbourhood, Al Azizia Steel Mills and Flagship Company Ltd and other offshore companies.

The national anti-graft watchdog had filed references against Sharif family in compliance with the Supreme Court’s July 28 verdict in the Panama Papers case.

On July 28, the apex court had disqualified former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and ordered filing of references against him, his children and the finance minister in light of the Panama joint investigation team report.