The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Saturday obtained arrest warrants of PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam and son-in-law retired Capt Safdar, a spokesperson of the bureau said.
The development comes a day after an accountability court awarded 10 years in prison to ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif in the Avenfield properties reference, while his daughter Maryam Nawaz and her husband were sentenced to seven years and one-year imprisonment, respectively, for abetment.
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Besides, a NAB team has already left for Mansehra, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, to arrest Safdar, the spokesperson said, adding that the caretaker government in the province has also been approached for their assistance in carrying out the arrest.
The spokesperson said that NAB has also obtained a copy of the detailed verdict, and will ensure its implementation.
He clarified that Nawaz Sharif and his other family members had been convicted for committing corruption. "The offence of assets beyond known sources of income which prima facia come under the preview of NAO 1999 are corruption and corrupt practice," he added.
The clarification was apparently in response to the presser of Nawaz Sharif following the verdict — during which the ousted premier had referred to some TV reports, which according to Nawaz were saying that the court order had mentioned that the prosecution failed to prove the corruption charges against him.
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The court also ordered forfeiture of their property in the Avenfield Apartments, Park Lane, London and imposed £8 million (approx Rs1,292m) fine on Nawaz Sharif and £2 million (approx Rs323m) on Maryam Nawaz.
The three convicts were also given one-year jail term, which will run concurrently, for not cooperating with the bureau during the probe into the case. In the light of this verdict, both Maryam and her spouse cannot contest elections, while Sharif has already been disqualified for life by the Supreme Court in Panamagate case.
NAB had filed the reference regarding the high-end properties in London, along with two other cases, on the Supreme Court’s directives in the Panamagate verdict that deseated Nawaz Sharif as the prime minister last year.
