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Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law retired captain Mohammad Safdar will record their statements in the Avenfield reference at the accountability court on Friday.
The three accused were provided with a list of questions regarding the case by the court later in the afternoon. The remaining two accused, Sharif's sons Hussain and Hassan Nawaz, have been declared absconders.
The court decided to initiate the process under Section 342 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) in which the accused is given an opportunity to defend himself/herself before issuance of the final verdict after testimonies and cross-examinations of all prosecution witnesses were completed.
Take a look: Avenfield House or ‘tax haven’ house?
Accountability Judge Mohammad Bashir will formulate the questions for Sharif, Maryam and Safdar as an advanced intimation to their statements under Section 342 of the CrPC.
Meanwhile, the hearing of Al-Azizia reference was adjourned until Monday after Wajid Zia, head of the joint investigation team (JIT) that probed Sharif family's business dealings abroad in the Panamagate case, testified on Wednesday.
He informed the court that according to a table recording the inflow of wealth from abroad to Sharif in volume nine of the JIT report, some — not all — of the money received [from abroad] by Sharif was not declared in his wealth and income tax statements.
According to the record available with the JIT, Hussain Nawaz did not send any money to his father in 2013-14 but Sharif did receive some money from Hill Metals Establishment, said Zia.
He added that the table regarding Sharif's wealth in volume nine of the report was prepared using bank records and other documents, in addition to the wealth and income tax statements.
Upon being asked what documents were used to prepare the table, Zia replied that the documents were not included in the report. He told the court that he would have to consult the record to be able to tell exactly what documents were used.
'Will reveal the characters behind 2014 sit-in when the time arrives'
In an informal talk with reporters at the accountability court today, Nawaz Sharif said that he was glad that the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) made government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa because it allowed the people to see the reality behind its rhetoric of change.
He said that the party has done nothing for the province and only protested.
Referring to the 2014 sit-in by the PTI and Tahirul Qadri, he said that he would reveal the names of the important characters behind it when the right time arrives.
