Pakistan SC orders Islamabad accountability court to conclude both remaining corruption cases against ex-PM Nawaz Sharif in six weeks

Islamabad: Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Monday ordered the accountability court in Islamabad to conclude the remaining two corruption cases against jailed former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his family within the next six weeks, according to a media report. The 68-year-old PML-N leader appeared before the Islamabad-based court for hearing in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills and the Hill Metal Establishment cases. The court also directed accountability judge Mohammad Arshad Malik to submit a progress report of the case to the apex court on a weekly basis, Dawn newspaper reported. [caption id=“attachment_5053631” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Nawaz Sharif. Reuters[/caption] During a hearing of the application seeking an extension in the deadline, Chief Justice Saqib Nisar remarked that he hoped that the defence counsel would complete his defence within the stipulated time. A three-judge bench headed by Nisar ordered a six-week extension in the deadline for concluding the remaining two corruption cases, it said. Last week, Malik had submitted a written request to the top court, seeking a fifth extension in the trial of ousted prime minister Sharif. Sharif, along with his 44-year-old daughter Maryam, and his 54-year-old son-in-law Captain Muhammad Safdar are already serving jail terms of ten, seven and one year respectively in the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, after the accountability court convicted them on 6 July over the family’s ownership of four luxury flats in London through illegal means. The pending corruption cases against Sharif and his two sons were transferred by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on 7 August on the application of Sharif to another accountability court headed by judge Malik. Three corruption cases were filed against Sharif and family in 2017 following a decision by the Supreme Court on 28 July of the same year. The formal trial of the Sharif family started on 14 September and was to be completed in six months, but later the deadline was extended at least thrice. Apart from Sharif, his two sons — Hassan and Hussian — are also co-accused on all three corruption cases. The court has already declared the two sons as absconders due to their persistent failure to appear before the court. They have been blacklisted by the authorities, barring them from travelling on their Pakistani passports.