NAB granted 14-day physical remand of Nawaz Sharif in Chaudhry Sugar Mills case – Pakistan

The National Office of Accountability (NAB) obtained the 14-day physical prison of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Friday in connection with the Chaudhry Sugar Mills (CSM) case.

The court ordered the accountability office to present Nawaz on October 25.

Sharif had been arrested earlier in the day by NAB from the Kot Lakhpat prison and presented to an accountability court in Lahore.

Sharif family members are accused of being involved in money laundering under the purchase / sale of Chaudhry Sugar Mills Ltd.

NAB has accused Nawaz of being a direct beneficiary of CSM and his daughter, Maryam, who was arrested in connection with the case in August along with his cousin Yousuf Abbas, of having more than 12 million shares in the sugar mills.

A source had previously revealed that in January 2018, the PML-N government's financial monitoring unit had informed NAB of a large suspicious transaction involving Rs. Billion in Chaudhry Sugar Mills.

The CSM reference is the latest in a series of court cases involving the former prime minister. The saga began with his dismissal from office in 2017 through the Panama Papers verdict on his convictions in two subsequent corruption references involving Al Azizia steel mills and Avenfield apartments.

A NAB team, after arresting the former prime minister of the Kot Lakhpat prison, where he served a seven-year sentence after being convicted in the Al Azizia reference, took him to a liability court in Lahore to secure a 15-day physical prison.

Judge Chaudhry Ameer Muhammad Khan asked where Nawaz was, after which he appeared on the rostrum.

During the proceedings, which were interrupted by party workers trying to take photos with the former prime minister, NAB prosecutor Hafiz Asadullah Awan claimed that in 2016, Nawaz had been the largest shareholder in CSM and had retained his participation in Chaudhry Sugar Mills and Shamim Sugar mills

The NAB prosecutor also alleged that Maryam, the president of PML-N, Shehbaz Sharif, and other members of the Sharif family had also been shareholders of CSM.

He had stated that CSM bank accounts had received foreign funds, and added that in 1992 only one foreign company had provided Nawaz Rs55.5 million. Awan said they still don't know who owns this foreign company.

After the NAB prosecutor concluded his statements, Nawaz's lawyer, lawyer Amjad Pervez, denied that his client was a shareholder or director at CSM.

"This is not the first time that Nawaz Sharif's assets are under scrutiny," he said, adding that opposition governments had also previously investigated the formation of companies, but nothing was found.

He also said that Nawaz had no role in the formation of CSM.

According to Pervez, all of Nawaz's children had been directors and shareholders in the sugar mill. "For 30 years, Nawaz has declared its assets," he said.

Pervez said a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) had already investigated all the problems, after which NAB had submitted a reference in Islamabad.

"There is no justification for another investigation; this is a false case," he said.

He also argued that it was not necessary for the court to grant NAB the physical return of the former prime minister and alleged that his client had been unjustly arrested.

"The dishonesty of NAB in the case is evident and this is just one more case that is being formed for political reasons," Pervez said.

He also described the "revelations" of NAB in the case of CSM as "baseless."

Nawaz said he said his client was already in prison and that if NAB had wanted to conduct an investigation, they could simply have visited him in his cell.

"Nawaz Sharif is serving his sentence after a trial and his arrest is not in accordance with the law. Nawaz should not be handed over to the agency in physical prison even for an hour," he argued.

He had also claimed that Nawaz was discharged in the CSM case.

Nawaz statement in court

In his statement to the court, the former prime minister said that NAB officials had visited him only once in jail and that he had answered all the questions he could, adding that he had not shared information he was not aware of. .

Nawaz said he had requested to meet with his lawyer and claimed that he was not allowed to do so.

"The accusations made against me are false. NAB is conducting an investigation into the declared assets," he said.

He said NAB officials had come and stated the reasons for the arrest.

"The accusations that have been made are unfounded. Our name was in 32 industries, tell us where there was corruption."

Nawaz said he had been minister and prime minister three times and that if corruption was demonstrated during these periods, he would withdraw not only from the case, but also from politics.

"[Former dictator retired Gen Pervez] Musharraf created NAB for me. Musharraf had only one goal that was Nawaz Sharif. NAB is only being used against PML-N and the opposition. "

"I'm already in jail, if there is such enmity [with me] tell me where they want to take me. "

"If they think PML-N will panic and bow [to pressure], this will never happen. "

When Nawaz presented his statement, supporters chanted slogans in the courtroom. The judge told him to just talk about the case.

City braces

Before the appearance of the former prime minister, the routes leading to the court of responsibility had been closed.

PML-N's leadership, including spokesman Marriyum Aurangzeb, PML-N senator Asif Kirmani, Nawaz's son-in-law, retired captain Mohammad Safdar, Pervaiz Rasheed and Ameer Muqam, and a large number of party workers had gathered out of court in a show of support

Previous NAB References

Currently, Nawaz is serving a seven-year sentence in the case of corruption of Al-Azizia Mills in the Kot Lakhpat prison, which was handed over in December 2018. The same court that pronounced the verdict acquitted Nawaz in a second related reference with Flagship Investments.

The reference was that the Sharifs could not justify the source of the funds provided to establish Al-Azizia Steel Mills and Hill Metal Establishment (HME) in Saudi Arabia, so it is a case of owning assets beyond the means.

Earlier, in July 2018, Sharif had received a 10-year sentence on the Avenfield property corruption reference.

Nawaz was convicted under NAO 1999 9 (a) (v), which states: "It is said that a holder of a public office, or any other person, commits or has committed the crime of corruption and corrupt practices […] if he or any of his dependents or benamidar owns, owns or has acquired rights or titles over any asset or has an irrevocable power of attorney with respect to any material asset or resource disproportionate to their known sources of income, which cannot reasonably justify or maintain a standard of living beyond what is proportional to their sources of income. "

However, the sentence has been suspended by the Islamabad High Court and is pending its decision on the matter.

Additional reports by Muhammad Taimoor and Ali Waqar