Pak court declares Sharif's sons absconders

Ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's sons, Hassan Nawaz and Hussain Nawaz, were declared absconders in anti-graft references against them by an accountability court, on Monday.

According to Dunya News, the court took the decision due to their persistent absence.

The court has also begun to record statements of witnesses and collecting evidence in the corruption references filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

The NAB told the court that they hadn't found any properties of Sharif's sons in Pakistan.

Their shares and bank accounts had already frozen, the NAB added.

On November 15, the court had passed a similar order declaring them as absconders for the reason.

Earlier on October 31, the court had ordered the freezing of company shares owned by Sharif's sons.

The shares in six companies owned by Hassan and Hussain Nawaz were ordered frozen.

The court directed the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) to freeze these shares after taking into account details presented in a report submitted by NAB prosecutor Afzal Qureshi.

Non-bailable warrants of arrest were issued for Hassan and Hussain earlier this month for failing to appear before the court.

Last month, the NAB filed four corruption references against the Sharif family and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar with the accountability court. The references were prepared in light of the July 28 judgement of the Supreme Court in the Panamagate case.