Sharif, sons fail to appear before NAB team

lahore — Ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his two sons did not appear before the country’s top anti-graft body on Friday for interrogation in connection with money laundering and corruption cases.

Security had been tightened in and around the NAB office with about 200 policemen deployed in the surrounding area in anticipation of the ousted PM’s visit, but Sharif and his sons did not turn up.

Sharif, after receiving the summons, had decided not to join the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) investigation till the Supreme Court decides his review petition against the apex court’s July 28 verdict to disqualify him from office, a senior PML-N leader said.

A NAB team of 10 members reached Lahore from Rawalpindi to record the statements of Sharif and his two sons.

One of the three applications filed by Sharif in the Supreme Court has called for staying “further implementation of the judgement till a decision on the review petition is taken”.

The apex court is likely to take up Sharif’s review petition early next month after the judges’ vacation.

Sharif has expressed serious concerns on the NAB investigation against him and his family members, saying that it was unprecedented for a Supreme Court judge to supervise NAB proceedings against him and his family members to get a “desired result”.

“Sharif has also been advised by some of his party to boycott the NAB investigations as he would not get any relief as it has already been decided to grill him,” the PML-N leader said on condition of anonymity.

The NAB, however, said it will issue second summons to Sharif and his sons if they do not join the investigations after the first summons. The third and final summons will be issued next month if there is no compliance with the second summons.

On July 28, the five-member bench of the Supreme Court had disqualified Sharif for possessing a work permit in the firm of his son in the UAE. — PTI