Accountability court rejects plea seeking postponement of Al-Azizia case hearing

ISLAMABAD - The accountability court hearing the Al-Azizia reference against former premier Nawaz Sharif and his family rejected a postponement plea by the defence counsel, Khawaja Haris.

As the hearing resumed on Tuesday, the accountability court judge Arshad Malik noted that the Supreme Court had ordered the references to be winded up in six weeks.

The legal assistant of defence counsel, Sher Afghan Asadi informed the accountability court that Khawaja Haris was unable to attend the hearing due to engagements at the Islamabad High Court hearing the petitions pertaining to the annulment of the Avenfield verdict, filed by the Sharifs.

Asadi informed the bench that the IHC had fixed today (Tuesday) and Wednesday for the case hearing.

Haris cannot appear before the accountability court as he was busy with preparing arguments for the IHC hearings, Asaid argued and added that the IHC conducts hearings on a daily basis.

To this, the judge noted that the accountability court also hears the corruption references on a daily basis.

National Accountability Bureau's prosecutor general Sardar Muzaffar Abbasi told the bench that the anti-graft body's star witness Wajid Zia was present in the court for cross-examination.

Citing that the court had only four weeks as granted by the apex court, the accountability judge refused the request to postpone the hearing till Thursday.

Nawaz Sharif was sentenced to 10 years in prison in the Avenfield reference, his daughter Maryam was handed seven-year prison term while son-in-law Captain (r) Safdar was punished for one year in prison.

The family is serving the term at the Adiala jail and has also filed petitions with the Islamabad High Court.