ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and daughter Maryam are set to challenge the accountability court’s verdict against them in the Islamabad High Court today.The father-daughter duo was sentenced on Friday to 11 and eight years in prison and slapped £8-million and £2-million fines, respectively, in relation to the Avenfield properties reference filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) last year. Moreover, Nawaz’s son-in-law, Capt (retd) Safdar, received a one-year prison sentence.
All three family members, according to sources, have given their power of attorney to Khawaja Haris — Nawaz’s counsel during the over-nine-month trial in the accountability court — who will file the appeals today.
Nawaz, Maryam to return to Pakistan on Friday
While speaking to media in London earlier on Saturday, Maryam said she and her father would return to Pakistan on Friday — before the 10-day deadline for an appeal against the decision ends.
She said a consultation was under way over the decision and that their lawyers are looking at the matter from all legal angles.
“Due process will be implied against the court’s decision,” Maryam had said, adding: “The institutions in the UK have already told the Pakistani institutions that no illegality was carried out.”
NAB officials have said they have obtained the necessary warrants in this regard and will arrest the duo when they land.
With regards to Nawaz’s return, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Hamza Shehbaz has called on workers to reach Islamabad when the PML-N supremo returns to the country.
