News
Tuesday, May 04, 2010
Petition on revival of cases against Sharifs rejected* Court says NAB application received without chairman’s signatures
Staff Report
RAWALPINDI: An accountability court on Monday rejected a petition seeking the revival of references on the Hudabia Paper Mills, the Ittefaq Foundry and the Raiwind farms against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, along with eight other members of the Sharif family.
Accountability Court-II Judge Wamiq Javed observed the NAB application seeking the revival of the cases did not contain the signatures of the chairman of the bureau. The court reserved its decision on the application thrice.
NAB Additional Prosecutor General Abdul Baseer Qureshi filed the petitions on February 17 asking the court to revive the references, which were suspended on April 12, 2001, for an indefinite period. NAB said since those accused in the cases had returned to Pakistan, the cases should be reopened.
The references were filed against the Sharif family during the regime of former president Pervez Musharraf. The references claim that the family members evaded taxes amounting to Rs 640 million and former federal finance minister Ishaq Dar wrote off a hefty loan of Rs 1 billion acquired by the family from the National Bank of Pakistan. One of the references against the Sharifs says lavish Raiwind palace and farms are “beyond the family’s declared sources of income”. The references also claim that the family evaded property tax and transfer fees in the construction of Raiwind estate when Nawaz was prime minister of the country.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk