Nawaz Sharif responds to court's questions in Al-Azizia corruption case
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Ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday submitted his responses to 45 of 50 questions posed to him by the court in the Al-Azizia corruption reference.
When Nawaz approached the rostrum to verbally record his testimony, Accountability Judge Mohammad Arshad Malik asked him to return to his seat, and informed Nawaz that he himself would read the statement out in court for it to be recorded.
The PML-N supreme leader said that he would need time to consult his lawyer Khawaja Haris before he could provide responses to the five unanswered questions posed by the court.
"Some questions are complicated and records will need to be checked [before they can be answered]," Nawaz told the court.
"I will ask you [further] questions regarding the replies which are not satisfactory," Judge Malik said, asking Nawaz if he had examined all the evidence presented by the prosecution, to which the latter responded in the affirmative.
Nawaz told the court that he was "elected prime minister three times. Pervez Musharraf established martial law on October 12, 1999 and I did not hold any public office from that time to 2013. I remained exiled from 2001 to 2008."
"I cannot answer questions regarding the income tax returns and wealth statements of Hassan and Hussain Nawaz. It is not within my purview," he added.
The ousted prime minister further said: "I have shown all my income tax returns, my assets and my sources of income. It is true that the financial documents, including tax records, wealth statements and wealth tax returns, are all my own."
The court observed that since Nawaz held public office, he was "the most influential person in the Sharif family", to which the former PM replied that this was an opinion formed by the Investigation Officer.
"My father Mian Muhammad Sharif was the most influential person in the family until his last breath," he explained.
Nawaz left the court while his statement was being read out in court. Once the reading of his statement concluded, he returned to the court and signed his testimony.
