Pak court rejects Sharif's objections to supplementary case in Panama Papers scandal
Islamabad: An accountability court in Pakistan today rejected ousted premier Nawaz Sharif's objections to the supplementary case filed against him and his family by the country's anti-graft body over properties in London.
The court holding trial in graft cases against Sharif and his family decided that the supplementary case would be made part of the record in the Avenfield flats case.
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on January 22 filed a supplementary case with the accountability court's registrar in Islamabad which is already trying Sharif and his family -- two sons Hussain and Hassan, daughter Maryam, and son-in-law Safdar -- for alleged corruption in three cases.
The cases are related to the Panama Papers scandal that had forced the 68-year-old three-time prime minister to resign.
Accompanied by daughter Maryam and son-in-law Mohammad Safdar, Sharif for the 15th time appeared in the court located in Islamabad.
During the hearing today, conducted by Judge Muhammad Bashir, Nawaz Sharif s lawyer Khawaja Haris had raised an objection over the supplementary reference, saying there is nothing new in it.
"The reference has been filed in line with the JIT report and no Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) report has so far been filed, said Haris.
According to him, the NAB had said that a supplementary reference would be filed when new evidence is found against the suspects but that is not the case. The supplementary reference had to be filed in reply to a legal consultation.
Haris stressed that the supplementary reference was not as per the order of the top court and thus could not be accepted.
"The supplementary reference was filed to target Sharif and even in that reference, the same allegations already levelled in the interim reference were repeated," he said.
The three cases against the Sharif family pertain to the Al-Azizia Steel Mills, several companies including Flagship Investment Ltd, and London's Avenfield properties.
Sharif and his sons have been named in all three NAB cases, while Maryam and Safdar have been named only in the Avenfield case.
The political future of Sharif, who heads the country's most powerful political family and the ruling PML-N party, has been hanging in the balance since his ouster. If convicted, he could be jailed.
Sharif's family alleges that the cases are politically motivated.
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Mumtaz Ali case: Police file chargesheet against six accused in Surathkal
Mangaluru: The Surathkal police have filed a chargesheet in court against six individuals in connection with the alleged suicide of community leader and businessman Mumtaz Ali. The chargesheet, comprising over 600 pages, was submitted to the JMFC court in Mangaluru on Monday.
The main accused include Rahmat (a resident of Krishna Nagar 7th Block), her husband and the fifth accused Shuhaib, the second accused Abdul Sattar, the third accused Kalandar Shafi (a resident of Nandavar), the fourth accused Mustafa (a resident of Krishna Nagar), and Siraj, the sixth accused and driver of Sattar’s car. The chargesheet was prepared under the supervision of Surathkal Police Inspector Mahesh Prasad.
On October 7, 2024, Mumtaz Ali’s car was found in an accident-like condition near the Kuloor Bridge. It was suspected that he had jumped into the Phalguni River. Following this, his daughter filed a missing person’s complaint, while his brother Haider Ali alleged that Rahmat and the other accused had mentally harassed Mumtaz, leading to his suspected suicide.
Based on these allegations, a case was registered and the police began investigations, questioning over 100 witnesses as part of the process.
The search operation in the river concluded on October 8, 2024, when Mumtaz Ali’s body was found. The chargesheet details the findings and evidence gathered during the investigation.
