LAHORE: Accountability Court on Wednesday recorded statements of two more prosecution witnesses in the money laundering and illegal assets reference against the family of Leader of Opposition in National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif.

The court adjourned further hearing to February 17 and directed the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to present more witnesses for their testimony.

Earlier, Shehbaz Sharif referred to the proceedings before a court of London on his suit against a journalist of Daily Mail for leveling allegations of money laundering. He claimed that the lawyer of the British newspaper admitted before the court that they had no evidence to support the allegations against him.

The presiding judge advised Shehbaz Sharif to leave aside whatever the British newspaper said as the lawyer of the NAB claimed to have strong evidence against him.

Shehbaz however said he would quit politics and go home if corruption of a single penny was proved against him.

The bureau’s prosecutor raised an objection and said Shehbaz was trying to waste precious time of the court.

The judge asked Shehbaz Sharif to file an acquittal application if he thought the findings of the London’s court could support him in the instant case.

Shehbaz had a conversation on mobile phone with former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his son Suleman.

Shehbaz’s son Suleman, daughter Rabia Imran and son-in-law Haroon Yousaf had been declared absconders in the reference for avoiding their appearance in the proceedings. His wife Nusrat obtained a stay order from the Lahore High Court.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021