ISLAMABAD – Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s legal counsel Khawaja Haris asserted on Wednesday that his client never owned the upscale London flats.
Concluding his arguments in the Avenfield Reference, Haris contended that Nawaz hadn’t accepted ownership of anything including the posh flats adding that the said flats were not in the name of former premier.
Haris argued that the burden of proof lies on the prosecution but decried that the prosecution has put the burden of the proof on the defence.
“Nawaz’s ownership was never proven. If the ownership had been proven only then we could have discussed the supposed difference between income and assets of my client,” he added.
Haris stated that Panama JIT head and prosecution witness Wajid Zia never stated that Nawaz was involved in the affairs related to the Gulf Steel Mills.
The counsel added that none of the prosecution witnesses stated that Nawaz’s son Hasan was a dependent of his father adding that that Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan official Sidra Mansoor could not even verify the documents she presented as a proof in court.
The Avenfield reference, pertaining to the Sharif family’s London properties, is among three filed against the Sharif family by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) last year on the Supreme Court’s directives.
While Nawaz’s son-in-law Capt (retd) Safdar is appearing before the court, Nawaz and his daughter Maryam were given a four-day exemption from appearance on Tuesday as they are in London to inquire after ailing Kulsoom Nawaz.
