NAB team in London to probe Sharifs' properties

A National Accountability Bureau (NAB) team is in London to record statements of important witnesses and collect evidence of properties belonging to ousted Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's family, a media report said.

The team included those who prepared four corruption and money laundering references against Sharif, his sons Hassan and Hussain, daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law retired Captain Mohammad Safdar, Dawn online reported on Thursday.

One corruption reference was filed against Finance Minister Ishaq Dar for having assets beyond his known sources of income.

"During its stay (in London) the team will contact the UK authorities to seek reply to its queries regarding the Sharif family's Avenfield properties. Besides, it will reach out to some important witnesses to record their statements ahead of the indictment of the Sharif family members," the official said.

Earlier, NAB had written letters to the UK authorities in connection with the mutual legal agreement seeking details of the Sharif family's Avenfield flats 16, 16-A, 17, 17-A, Avenfield House, Park Lane, London.

The "Volume-10" of the Supreme Court-appointed Joint Investigation Team's report is said to have dealt with the mutual legal business agreements between the Sharif family and different foreign governments.

Advocate Amjad Pervez, a counsel for the Sharif family, told Dawn that the NAB team must fulfil legal requirements in the case.

"We have no objection till NAB meets the legal requirement in the case here or abroad. It will be seen how credible testimony of the witnesses NAB is looking for (in London)," Pervez said.

An accountability court in Islamabad may indict Maryam and her husband Safdar in three graft cases on Thursday. Sharif will not be chargesheeted as he is in London to be with his wife Begum Kulsoom who is undergoing chemotherapy in connection with lymphoma (throat cancer).

NAB also initiated the process of declaring Sharif's sons proclaimed offenders on the order of the accountability court.

They had been given a deadline of November 10 to appear before the court in the graft cases, otherwise they will be declared proclaimed offenders and the process of issuing red warrants for them will begin.

The four references against the Sharif family related to their Avenfield properties in London, Azizia Steel Mills as well as another 16 offshore companies.

--IANS

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