Hearing against Sharif family in corruption cases adjourned

Islamabad, Nov 28 (IANS) A hearing into corruption references against Nawaz Sharif's family was adjourned on Tuesday after the former Pakistan Prime Minister requested a suspension until the Islamabad High Court announces its verdict on the clubbing of references.

On November 23, the High Court had reserved its judgement on Sharif's petition to club the references against him, reports Dawn news.

The request filed by Sharif on Tuesday sought suspension of the accountability court's proceedings until the decision was announced.

The National Accountability Bureau's (NAB) prosecutor, Sardar Muzzafar, objected to the former Prime Minister's request stating that witnesses had appeared for the hearing and should be allowed to record their statement.

The prosecutor pointed out that one of the witnesses had only recorded half of his testimony in the previous hearing and should be allowed to complete it on Tuesday, reports Dawn news.

However, the accountability court rejected the prosecutor's request as it adjourned the hearing until December 4.

Heavy protocol had escorted Sharif to the accountability court from the Islamabad airport upon his arrival from Lahore.

His daughter, Maryam Nawaz and her husband, Captain (retired) Mohammad Safdar, were present in the court during the hearing.

A five-member bench of the Supreme Court on July 28 had directed the NAB to file references against Sharif and his children in six weeks in the accountability court and directed the trial court to decide the references within six months.

Sharif and his sons, Hassan and Hussain, have been named in all three NAB references, while Maryam and Safdar were named only in one.