NAB summons ex-PM Sharif, family members to appear on Sunday

Pakistan's top graft organisation National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has summoned deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his family to appear before it in Lahore on Sunday in a reference related to the Sharifs' Avenfield properties.

It appears unlikely, however, that Sharif, his sons - Hassan and Hussain Nawaz - his daughter, Maryam Nawaz and her husband Captain Safdar will appear before the investigating team today, the Dawn quoted NAB spokesperson Asim Ali Nawazish as saying.

Notifications had been issued to all five members of the Sharif family on Friday to appear before investigators today.

Last week, Nawaz Sharif and his family members defied NAB summons in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills case.

The former prime minister decided not to appear before the NAB team till Nawaz's petition seeking a review of the Supreme Court's verdict that disqualified him from office is decided.

Nawaz has also moved a separate application in the Supreme Court with a request to suspend the final verdict in the Panama Papers case as long as the review petition is pending.

NAB has requested the apex court to allow members of the Panamagate Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to record their statements before the anti-graft watchdog as part of its investigations against the Sharif family and others.

The NAB team, under the supervision of director general Saleem Shahzad, proceeded with its enquiry into the Avenfiled flats on Sunday morning despite the absence of the Sharif family members at the Lahore offices.

It has not yet been confirmed whether the Sharifs will appear before investigators today.

On July 28, a five judge larger bench of the SC while disqualifying Nawaz under Article 62(1)( f) of the Constitution had asked NAB to file four references in the Rawalpindi accountability court within six weeks on the basis of the material collected and referred to by the Joint Investi­gation Team - which probed allegations of money laundering against the Sharif family - as well as that already available with the Federal Investi­gation Agency and NAB.