Avenfield Case: Court Gives Nawaz, Family Till Monday To Record Statements

The testimonies of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, daughter Maryam and son-in-law Capt (retd) Safdar in the Avenfield case could not be recorded on Friday as the defence sought more time to ponder over the questions sent by the accountability court.

Islamabad, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 18th May, 2018) : The testimonies of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, daughter Maryam and son-in-law Capt (retd) Safdar in the Avenfield case could not be recorded on Friday as the defence sought more time to ponder over the questions sent by the accountability court.

The Avenfield reference, pertaining to the Sharif family's London properties, is among three filed against Sharif family by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) last year on the Supreme Court's directives.

During the today hearing, Nawaz's counsel Khawaja Haris pleaded the court to delay the recording of statements until Monday as they need more time to go over the questions sent by court owing to some discrepancies.

The prosecution objected to the plea, saying the defence just wants to waste time. However, Accountability Judge Mohammad Bashir approved the plea but observed that the recording of statements will not be delayed further than Monday.

Moreover, the court ruled that Panama case JIT head Wajid Zia, whose cross-examination in the Al Azizia reference was to resume on Monday, should now appear in court on Tuesday. Nawaz appeared in court today along with Maryam and Safdar.

Speaking to reporters inside the court, Nawaz criticised PPP supremo Asif Zardari's statement calling on him to provide accountability of last 30 years, saying "everyone will have to be held accountable now".