Pak anti-corruption court asks Sharifs to answer over 100 questions on posh London properties

An accountability court in Pakistan has raised over 100 questions to former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter and son-in-law on their posh properties in London, according to a media report today.

Sharif and his family are facing three corruption cases in the Accountability Court after the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) filed cases against them following the Supreme Court's verdict in the Panama Papers case.

Judge Mohammad Bashir handed over the questionnaire to the counsel for the Sharif family with a directive that the court would record their testimony tomorrow, Dawn newspaper reported.

The court, hearing three corruption cases against the 68- year-old deposed prime minister, asked multiple questions about four apartments in Park Lane, Avenfield, London.

The questions related to money trail, sale proceed of Gulf Steel Mills (GSM), shares of Ahli Steel Mills, investment with Qatari royals, clearance of GSM's liabilities, litigation with Al-Tawfeek Investment and offshore companies Nielson and Nescoll.

Apart from Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law retired Captain Mohammad Safdar are accused of purchasing the London properties through corrupt means.

On the questions for Maryam, the court asked about trust deeds pertaining to the offshore companies and what the witnesses had testified against her.

The court offered the accused to bring anything on record to contradict the statements of prosecution witnesses and produce any witness in their defence.

In April, the Supreme Court, in a landmark judgement, declared Sharif ineligible to hold public office for life, ending the political future of the three-time premier ahead of this year's general elections.

Sharif was disqualified to hold the office of the prime minister by the Supreme Court on July 28 last year in the Panama Papers case. He was disqualified for not being "honest and righteous" as he failed to declare in 2013 a salary he got from the company of his son in the UAE.

In February, the apex court also disqualified Sharif as the head of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).