Embattled former premier Nawaz Sharif’s son-in-law retired Captain Muhammad Safdar announced that he is willing to surrender to authorities today after being convicted in the Avenfield corruption reference two days ago because “honour demands it”.
In an audio message sent to journalists by the PML-N’s media cell, Capt Safdar said the decision for him to turn himself in, after he was sentenced to one year in jail for abetment in the Avenfield reference, was made by the party’s leadership.
He added that he wished to be arrested in an area other than Mansehra, his hometown, or Hazara Division.
Nawaz, his daughter Maryam, and Safdar were all handed varying jail sentences in the Avenfield corruption reference. The former premier and his daughter are currently in London, while Safdar is in Pakistan. His whereabouts are currently unknown.
He was to contest the upcoming polls on a National Assembly and provincial assembly seat from Mansehra. In the light of the verdict, both Safdar and his spouse cannot contest elections, while Nawaz has already been disqualified for life by the Supreme Court in Panamagate case.
The National Accountability Bureau said that arrest warrants for Safdar had already been obtained, and a team had departed for Mansehra, where he was last seen, to arrest him.
However, he has remained “underground” and is reportedly looking to consult his lawyer to get a stay order.
The PML-N’s Mansehra President Zafar Mehmood told media earlier that Safdar would either surrender to NAB or avail himself of pre-arrest bail from the court in Lahore.
Nawaz and Maryam both are set to return to Pakistan, July 13, exactly one week after their conviction, before expiry of the 10-day time limit set for filing of an appeal against the NAB court’s verdict in the Islamabad High Court.
In a defiant press conference following the announcement of the verdict on Friday, Nawaz vowed to return to Pakistan to face prison, saying that if the punishment for “demanding respect for the vote is jail, I am coming to face it”.
In an audio message sent to journalists by the PML-N’s media cell, Capt Safdar said the decision for him to turn himself in, after he was sentenced to one year in jail for abetment in the Avenfield reference, was made by the party’s leadership.
He added that he wished to be arrested in an area other than Mansehra, his hometown, or Hazara Division.
Nawaz, his daughter Maryam, and Safdar were all handed varying jail sentences in the Avenfield corruption reference. The former premier and his daughter are currently in London, while Safdar is in Pakistan. His whereabouts are currently unknown.
He was to contest the upcoming polls on a National Assembly and provincial assembly seat from Mansehra. In the light of the verdict, both Safdar and his spouse cannot contest elections, while Nawaz has already been disqualified for life by the Supreme Court in Panamagate case.The National Accountability Bureau said that arrest warrants for Safdar had already been obtained, and a team had departed for Mansehra, where he was last seen, to arrest him.
However, he has remained “underground” and is reportedly looking to consult his lawyer to get a stay order.
The PML-N’s Mansehra President Zafar Mehmood told media earlier that Safdar would either surrender to NAB or avail himself of pre-arrest bail from the court in Lahore.
Nawaz and Maryam both are set to return to Pakistan, July 13, exactly one week after their conviction, before expiry of the 10-day time limit set for filing of an appeal against the NAB court’s verdict in the Islamabad High Court.
In a defiant press conference following the announcement of the verdict on Friday, Nawaz vowed to return to Pakistan to face prison, saying that if the punishment for “demanding respect for the vote is jail, I am coming to face it”.
