Accountability court prosecutes Nawaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz, Safdar

An accountability court in Islamabad indicted on Thursday deposed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, daughter Maryam Nawaz and her husband Captain Safdar (retd) in connection with a reference pertaining to the Avenfield flats case filed against them by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

The charge sheet was read in the court. However, all the three accused pleaded not guilty to the charges. During the hearing, Ayesha Hamid, the former PM’s counsel, pleaded the court to halt the indictment process until Supreme Court decides on the re-filing of references.

Similarly, Amjad Pervez, counsel of Maryam and Captain Safdar (retd), pleaded Judge Muhammad Bashir to halt the indictment case, as his clients were not provided with complete documents of the case. Both of these pleas were dismissed by the accountability court.

According to the charge sheet, Maryam was the sole beneficiary of Avenfield apartments in London. The Avenfield properties include flats 16, 16-A, 17 and 17-A Avenfield House, Park Lane, London, United Kingdom.

The charge sheet further states that Maryam submitted forged documents to joint investigation team, using Calibri font and the documents had been declared fake.

The court has adjourned the hearing against the Avenfield reference till October 26.