ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Monday directed an accountability court hearing the remaining two corruption references against the Sharif family to conclude the Al-Azizia case within three weeks, a private TV channel reported.
The deadline to conclude the Al-Azizia reference had ended on November 17. On November 16, Accountability Court judge Arshad Malik had written a letter to the Supreme Court to seek another extension in the deadline to conclude the cases.
A two-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar heard the request. Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s counsel Khawaja Harris also appeared before the bench for the hearing. The top court directed that the Al-Azizia reference against the former prime minister be concluded within three weeks. “After this, more time will not be given to conclude the Al-Azizia reference trial,” the chief justice remarked. Six extensions to wrap up the corruption references initiated by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) have already been granted by the apex court, which had initially set a six-month deadline to conclude the four corruption references against the Sharif family.
Published in Daily Times, November 20th 2018.
