ISLAMABAD: The accountability court on Thursday issued a notice to former prime minister Nawaz Sharif on an application filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) seeking permission to submit additional evidence on record.

The court had exempted Mr Sharif from personal appearance since he was in Lahore in connection with Quran Khawani for his deceased wife Begum Kulsoom Nawaz.

During the proceedings, the prosecution filed an application before accountability judge Mohammad Arshad Malik for submitting the response on the request of mutual legal assistance (MLA) related to the Flagship investment reference.

However, the defence counsel objected that since the testimony of the prosecution witness was in process, the bureau could not file the application at this stage.

He also requested the court to provide a copy of the questionnaire to the accused before recording of testimony under Section 342 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

Next proceeding scheduled for today

During the proceedings, witness Mohammad Kamran — who was the investigation officer in the Flagship investment reference — also submitted a compact disc (CD) containing the speeches of Mr Sharif given on the floor of the National Assembly, as well as his address to the nation soon after the Panama Papers leaks.

He said that the stance taken by Mr Sharif in the speeches was different from what he had taken before the Supreme Court during the hearing of the Panama Papers case.

When the defence counsel asked the witness about the source of the video footage, the investigation officer said he had obtained this record from PTV producer Shahid Mehmood Malik.

He informed the court that the Joint Investigation Team (JIT), constituted by the Supreme Court to probe allegations made in the Panama Papers, had written several requests for MLA to the UK and Saudi authorities.

After obtaining the record from the JIT, NAB as a follow-up sent letters to the authorities in the UK and Saudi Arabia and conveyed to them that the inquiry had been transferred, said Mr Kamran. He requested the court to place the relevant documentation on the judicial record.

But since the defence counsel raised objections, the accountability court put off the matter to Friday (today).

Published in Dawn, November 9th, 2018