-Rules NAB provides no solid evidence to support its plea
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-Says cases of imported government’s leaders being dismissed daily
By Makhdoom
Shehryar Babar
ISLAMABAD: Four years after their conviction, PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz and her husband Captain (retd) Safdar were acquitted in the Avenfield properties corruption reference after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) overturned the July 2018 verdict on Thursday.
In a brief order, the court said: “For the reasons to be recorded later, the instant appeal is allowed and the judgment dated July 6, 2018, is set aside.”
It added that Maryam and Captain Safdar’s convictions have been set aside and they have been acquitted of the charges in the reference. Speaking outside the court, the PML-N leader hailed the verdict and said that Mian Nawaz Sharif stood “vindicated”.
She started her media talk while speaking on the phone to her father and paused midway to receive another from her uncle Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, both of whom congratulated Maryam on the victory.
Separately, PM Shehbaz said the “edifice of lies, slander and character assassination” had come crumbling down. “Maryam’s acquittal in the Avenfield reference is a slap in the face of so-called accountability system that was employed to target the Sharif family. My congratulations to Maryam beti and Safdar,” he said.
A two-member bench, comprising Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, presided over Thursday’s hearing during which the court heard arguments from both sides. At the outset of the hearing, Maryam’s lawyer Amjad Pervaiz and NAB prosecutor Sardar Muzaffar Abbasi appeared before the court.
“At the previous hearing Usman Cheema presented the arguments but he is not feeling well today,” the bureau’s lawyer told the court. He then requested to present arguments with the bench’s permission.
During Thursday’s hearing, Justice Kiyani remarked that the opinion of the investigating officer could not be considered as evidence. “The joint investigation team did not present any fact, it just collected information,” he observed.
For his part, Muzaffar said that Wajid Zia — former director of the Federal Investigation Agency — had overviewed the documents himself and expressed his opinion on it. “I will show from the documents that these properties were purchased in 1999,” the NAB prosecutor said.
Justice Kayani also inquired about the other documents the prosecution had produced apart from oral statements. “What is the position of Nawaz Sharif regarding this case?” the judge asked, to which Muzaffar replied that Nawaz’s position was that he had no relation to the property.
The court remarked that if Nawaz maintained that he had no link, then the prosecution had to prove it. The court observed that Muzaffar’s statements were contradictory, adding that the NAB prosecutor had said at the previous hearing that Maryam had no role in purchasing the properties.
“Usman [Cheema] clearly said that Maryam had nothing to do with the properties in 1993. You’re saying that Maryam’s connection was there from the beginning,” Justice Farooq remarked, adding that NAB should first make itself clear on the issue and then inform the court.
Muzaffar replied that Nawaz had bought properties in London in Maryam’s name while being a public office holder. Justice Farooq told Muzaffar to prove his claims with evidence, further remarking that NAB had no case apart from the various applications filed.
“The details could have been taken if Wajid Zia knew that the properties were worth $5 million. It was not difficult at all to get the details of the properties,” the judge remarked, to which Muzaffar replied that determining the value of properties was not relevant.
Justice Farooq pointed out that Muzaffar was “absolutely wrong” in saying that the determination of value was irrelevant. At one point, Justice Farooq observed that the Sharif family’s stance was that they had bought the properties in 2006. “Despite their admission, Nawaz is not related [to the case],” he remarked.
Justice Kayani also observed that on the basis of these documents, the NAB had prepared the entire case against Maryam. “In the entire case by the NAB, there is no [mention] of Nawaz,” Justice Farooq noted.
Justice Farooq remarked that a property being in a daughter’s name did not necessarily mean that it was owned by the father. The NAB prosecutor contended that the Sharif family had not submitted any documents in its defence.
At that, Justice Farooq said, “Why should they have presented any documents? It was not their job. The NAB had to prove [the case against them].” Justice Kayani added, “They should have stood silently. They should not have said anything.”
“If they admit while standing in the rostrum that they owned the properties, even then the prosecution has to prove [the case against them],” Justice Farooq added. He said that NAB’s case may be valid, but it had failed to prove it.
“The investigator has to prove this position as wrong. The prosecution has to prove that the real ownership belongs to Nawaz Sharif,” the judge said, adding that the watchdog had to bring the facts to light after the investigation. He told NAB to show the documents that proved the property trail to be wrong.
Meanwhile, Justice Farooq said that the case commenced in 2006 but the accountability bureau took it all the way back to 1993. “The Sharif family had nothing to do with the properties in 1993,” he observed. Justice Kayani concurred, saying that according to the Sharif family’s admission, the case against them was registered in 2006.
He noted that Maryam being written down as the beneficial owner was just an opinion and there was no evidence for it. “The case that NAB has made is against Maryam Nawaz and not against Nawaz Sharif,” he added. Here, Justice Farooq pondered here how the case was merited since the PML-N vice president was not any public office holder.
“If they did not have their own admission then there would have been no case against them. The Sharif families had nothing to do with the properties in 1993,” Justice Farooq noted.
Furthermore, Justice Kayani pointed out that it was now clear the ownership of the properties belonged to the companies and then called on NAB to show the link of the companies to Nawaz or Maryam.
“Captain (retd) Safdar was convicted on the basis of the trust deed. Even if we consider that this is a fake document, all parties are accepting [it],” he said, adding that there was a possibility that the document was “false and prepared later”.
Justice Kiyani also inquired if Nawaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz or Captain Safdar were ever arrested in the case. “No, none of them were arrested,” the NAB prosecutor replied.
On July 6, a few weeks before the elections in 2018, the accountability judge of Islamabad, who was working under the supervision of an apex court judge, convicted the Sharif family in the Avenfield apartment reference.
In a strong response to PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz’s acquittal in a corruption case, PTI said that it was the “real reason” behind PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s ouster.
The PTI has been building a narrative since its ouster in April that the party’s removal from the government was the incumbent rulers’ strategy to get themselves acquitted of corruption.
PTI Senior Vice President Fawad Chaudhry claimed that the state institutions have lost the nation’s confidence and said that their decisions have “no value” in the people’s court. “Beyond any doubt, it is another dark day in the history of Pakistan,” he added.
In a tweet, PTI Secretary-General leader Asad Umar said: “Inflation is increasing day by day and cases of imported government leaders are being dismissed daily.” “These are the main reason[s] for which Imran Khan was removed through conspiracy.” Former energy minister Hammad Azhar said that the PML-N was also a “bit embarrassed” after today’s ruling.
PTI’s Babar Awan said the jail department would teach lessons about the Sharif family to prisoners so that they can get NRO II as well.
PTI leader Khurram Sher Zaman said “regime change conspiracy” has come out on top after the ruling and not the PML-N. “Although Nawaz has no plans of coming back to Pakistan, Maryam will be planning on going to London after getting her passport,” he claimed.
