Accountability case hearing against Nawaz Sharif, family adjourned

A hearing by Pakistan's accountability court against ousted Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam and son-in-law, retired Captain Safdar, in Islamabad was today adjourned till November 7.

The hearing against Nawaz Sharif and his family was adjourned after the court was unable to procure an order passed by the Islamabad High Court regarding the clubbing of the three references against the Sharif family in time, The Dawn reported.

Nawaz Sharif, Maryam and Safdar appeared in court appeared together in court for the first time today.

The Supreme Court had directed National Accountability Bureau to file references against Nawaz and his children in six weeks in the accountability court, The Dawn report said, adding that the court also directed the trial court to decide the references within six months.

The Sharif family is facing trial in connection with National Accountability Bureau references pertaining to the Avenfield flats, the Al-Azizia Steel Mills and Hill Metal Establishment.

Nawaz Sharif paid two surety bonds of five million rupees ($48,000) each before leaving under tight security after the brief hearing, his lawyer Khawaja Haris told AFP.

Nawaz Sharif, who was forced out by the Supreme Court in July following a corruption investigation against him following the Panama Papers leak case, had been facing an arrest warrant for failing to appear at hearings since early October.

On Thursday, he arrived in Islamabad from London where he has spent most of the time with his wife who is receiving treatment for cancer. 

Sharif and his supporters have denied the allegations and hinted at a political conspiracy driven by the powerful military. 

"I am going to Pakistan despite (my wife's) chemotherapy to appear in a bogus case," he told media in London before departing.

"Pakistan's system has contradictions... all this must be changed, now is the time to change it."

He said nothing to media outside the court in Islamabad, but his son-in-law Muhammad Safdar also hinted at a conspiracy. 

"Till the time the courts are... free from the fear of some other people, I can't expect any fair trial from this court," Safdar said outside the court.

(With inputs from AFP)