ISLAMABAD – The Supreme Court has rejected a plea filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) against the proceedings of the Islamabad High Court hearing pleas filed by the Sharif family.
The former ruling family had challenged its conviction in the Avenfield reference by the accountability court before the Islamabad High Court.
The graft-buster had filed an application against the proceedings in the apex court, however, the top judge rejected the ‘frivolous’ plea and also imposed Rs 20, 000 fine on the body.
On the occasion, NAB’s prosecutor Akram Qureshi was admonished by the top judge in brief proceedings.
“Justice should be served to the public as its all about the mechanism,” remarked the judge.
The accountability watchdog had filed a petition on Saturday seeking to restrain the Islamabad High Court (IHC) from ruling on an application lodged by the Sharif family seeking the suspension of the Avenfield reference verdict.
Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law retired Captain Mohammad Safdar had moved the IHC to annul the verdict in the Avenfields properties reference after they were convicted by Accountability Court Judge Mohammad Bashir on July 6, 2018.
The accountability court had sentenced Nawaz to 10 years in prison, Maryam to seven years and handed a one-year sentence to Captain Safdar in a reference filed in the pretext of Panama papers verdict.
According to a petition moved by NAB Chairman Javed Iqbal, the high court did not send NAB, a notice before admitting the Sharif family’s petition for hearing.
“The high court cannot rule on the Sharif family’s petition without listening to NAB’s perspective,” the petition said.
Furthermore, the NAB chief said in his petition that ruling on the suspension application was beyond the domain of high court, pleading that the IHC should be stopped from hearing the petition at all.
