Anti-graft court indicts ousted prime minister

ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani anti-corruption court yesterday indicted ousted former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter over allegations linked to ownership of London properties, opening a trial that could see the former leader jailed.

The Sharifs have called the corruption proceedings against them a conspiracy, hinting at intervention by the powerful military, but opponents have hailed it as a rare example of the rich and powerful being held accountable.

Sharif, 67, resigned in July after the Supreme Court disqualified him from holding office over an undeclared source of income, but the veteran leader maintains his grip on the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party.

A witness in court said Sharif, his daughter Maryam, as well as her husband Muhammad Safdar, had all been indicted by the court of the anti-corruption agency, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). They pleaded not guilty.

Maryam and Safdar were present in court, but Sharif, who was prime minister twice in the 1990s, sent a representative while he tends to his ailing wife in Britain.

Outside court, Maryam again hinted at military interference in the judicial process by saying the trial was “a repeat of 1999”, the year her father was toppled in a military coup led by former army chief Pervez Musharraf.

It is not clear if she was comparing the trial with the 1999 coup, or subsequent corruption accusations and investigations that Musharraf ordered into Sharif.

Sharif’s disqualification stemmed from the Panama Papers leaks last year that appeared to show that his daughter and two sons owned offshore holding companies registered in the British Virgin Islands and used them to buy luxury flats in London.

The Supreme Court initially declined to dismiss Sharif, but ordered an investigation into his family’s wealth.

The NAB has in the past been described as toothless because of its low conviction rates, especially when it comes to powerful politicians, and investigations that last many years.

But the Supreme Court has ordered the trial to be concluded within six months.

Opening arguments are due to begin on October 26.