Safdar rebuffs any connection with Avenfield properties

ISLAMABAD: Captain (retd) Muhammad Safdar has categorically denied any association with Avenfield properties in London during his testimony in an accountability court on Wednesday.

On the second day of concluding his testimony in Avenfield case, Safdar declared himself unrelated to most of the questions asked by the court.

“The letter submitted by Joint Investigation Team head Wajid Zia on July 3, 2017, and other by Mossack Fonseca dated June 22, 2012 as evidences against Sharif family cannot be made a part of court record. These letters do not concern me either,” Safdar remarked.

“I have been only framed in this case because I am the son-in-law of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif,” he added.

PML-N leader Capt. (retd) Safdar refused to present witnesses in his defence before the court, while maintaining that the prosecution has failed to prove him guilty in the case.

Defence counsel Amjad Perviaz also emphasized that the accused is not related to many aspects of the case because most of the business dealings belong to the era when he was not married to Maryam Nawaz.

Moreover, the son-in-law of Nawaz Sharif shared that he has nothing to do with 25% shares of Gulf Steel Mills. About the question regarding Tariq Shafi and screen shots presented by Wajid Zia in the case, Safdar stated that the questions are irrelevant to him.

A day earlier, Safdar testified before the court that he signed the trust deeds of offshore companies – Nielsen and Nescoll – as a witness. 

Judge Mohammed Bashir has adjourned the hearing for a concluding debate until June 5.

JIT head Wajid Zia is summoned in Al-Azizia Steel Mill reference tomorrow for cross-examination by defence counsel Khawaja Haris.

The Avenfield reference, pertaining to the Sharif family’s London properties, is among three references against the Sharif family filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) last year on the orders of the Supreme Court.