- The trial of Two references against Nawaz Sharif would now be held in the jail
Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz after landing in Lahore.ISLAMABAD, July 13: Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and daughter Maryam Nawaz were arrested after arriving in Lahore on Friday night, a week after being sentenced to prison in the Avenfield properties case.
A National Accountability Bureau (NAB) team took Nawaz and Maryam in its custody from the aircraft, while their passports were confiscated by officials of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). Shortly afterwards, Nawaz Sharif was boarded on a separate special plane while Maryam Nawaz on a helicopter for Islamabad. Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz were taken to Adiala Jail by armoured vehicles under tight security. The flight from Lahore landed at the New Islamabad airport at around 10:35PM, where sources said a helicopter and a special plane was present. According to reports, the former premier and his daughter were cooperating with NAB officials.
Earlier, the two arrived in Lahore from Abu Dhabi at 8:50pm after their flight was delayed for over two hours. They had left London a day earlier.
Meanwhile, accountability court judge Muhammad Bashir has signed arrest warrants for the former prime minister and his daughter.
The former three-time prime minister was sentenced to a total of 11 years in prison and slapped a £8 million fine (Rs1.3 billion) by an accountability court in Islamabad last week for “owning assets disproportionate to known sources of income”. His daughter, Maryam, was sentenced to eight years with a £2 million fine (Rs335 million), while her husband, Capt (Retd) Safdar, was handed a one-year prison sentence. Nawaz’s sons, Hassan and Hussain, have been absconding and declared ‘proclaimed offenders’ in the case. Speaking to the media from Abu Dhabi airport, Nawaz said Pakistan had been turned into a battleground. “There are blockades everywhere. People have been arrested and they are being given the message to not come to the airport,” the former premier said. “There are ten days left in the election. Is this how things happen in elections?” He asserted if the elections do not remain credible, the results would not be accepted.
“My resolve cannot be shaken and I am ready to be arrested,” Nawaz added.
Meanwhile the Law Ministry has issued a notification that the Accountability Court Judge, Muhammad Bashir would now hold the trial of two remaining references against Nawaz Sharif in Adiala jail -Agencies
