Islamabad: In a significant development, both sons of former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif have made a move to surrender in three corruption cases linked to the Panama Papers. Hussain Nawaz and Hassan Nawaz have approached the accountability court, seeking the suspension of their arrest warrants to enable their surrender on March 12, as reported by Dawn.
The applications filed by Hussain and Hassan Nawaz, through their counsel Qazi Misbahul Hassan, requested the Islamabad accountability court to suspend the perpetual arrest warrants issued against them in the Avenfield Apartments, Al-Azizia, and Flagship Investment references.
Accountability Judge Nasir Javed Rana considered the applications of Hussain and Hassan Nawaz. Their counsel highlighted that both are residents of Saudi Arabia and the UK, respectively, and were named as accused in these references along with Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz, and retired Captain Safdar.
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The trial proceedings began in their absence, with Advocate Qazi Misbah noting that they were unaware of the formal legal process and that the state failed to properly serve the legal process, including notices, arrest warrants, and proclamations.
Hussain and Hassan Nawaz have now decided to surrender before the court to face the trial proceedings, with plans to reach Islamabad on March 12. They have requested the court to suspend their arrest warrants to facilitate their appearance.
Notably, Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz were previously convicted in the Avenfield reference, while Nawaz Sharif was also convicted in the Al-Azizia reference. However, their convictions were later set aside by the Islamabad High Court.
Nawaz Sharif’s absence from the country led to him being declared a “proclaimed offender”, but upon his return to Pakistan, his appeals against convictions were revived, resulting in the Islamabad High Court overturning his convictions in both cases.
