Arrest warrants for ousted Pak PM Sharif's children, son-in-law delivered

Pakistan's anti-corruption officials have visited the home of ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif here and delivered notices of arrest warrants issued against his children and son-in-law, a media report said on Saturday.

A National Accountability Bureau (NAB) team on Friday visited Jati Umra, the residence of Sharif, and delivered the arrest warrants, The Express Tribune reported.

The move came in the wake of the failure of Hassan Nawaz, Hussain Nawaz, Maryam Nawaz and her husband Mohammad Safdar to appear in the court during the last hearing in the Panama Papers scandal, it said.

Maryam, Hussain, Hassan, and Safdar are currently in London with Kulsoom Nawaz, Sharif's wife, who is undergoing treatment for throat cancer.

Noting their absence, Judge Muhammad Bashir had issued the bailable warrants, asking the NAB to ensure that the warrants were delivered to the defendants.

"A NAB team visited Jati Umra to hand written orders over to the Sharif family," an official told the paper.

"Sharif's principal secretary acknowledged the receipt," he added.

Earlier, notices for the bailable arrest warrants of Sharif's three children and his son-in-law were sent to their London addresses. A copy of the notices was also sent to their Lahore addresses, the report said.

The notices to Sharif's children have been sent through the Pakistan High Commission in London and carry their Avenfield, Park Lane, address.

Sharif was disqualified from holding public office by the Supreme Court on July 28 in the Panama Papers case due to concealed assets. The apex court also ordered the country's top graft-buster, the NAB, to file corruption cases against Sharif, his two sons, daughter, and son-in-law.

On the last date of hearing in the accountability court, Sharif himself appeared before the judge but none of his children did.

Maryam had earlier advised her father to not appear before the NAB courts, calling the proceedings against the family a 'farce'.