LAHORE: In the unlawful plot allotment case that also involves Jang group Editor-in-Chief Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman and others as defendants, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was declared an absconder and had non-bailable arrest warrants released against him on Tuesday.
Judge Asad Ali of the Accountability Court has ordered the confiscation of Nawaz ‘s estate when presiding over the hearing of the case.
At the next meeting, the court also ordered the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and the Tax Department to present a confiscation report. In addition, at the next hearing , the court requested that the indictment process against Mir Shakil be begun.
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In an obvious reference to the publication in a separate case of Nawaz’s proclamations, the court observed that proclamations for the summons of Nawaz Sharif had been issued, whereas a report on his summons and absence had also been submitted to the court.
The accused Nawaz Sharif did not appear in spite of the lapse of 30 days,’ the court observed.
NAB Special Prosecutor Haris Qureshi prayed before the court during the hearings to declare the former premier a fugitive, as 30 days had passed since his proclamations were released.
Muhammad Nawaz Chaudhry Advocate appeared on behalf of accused Mir Shakil, while advocates Haider Rasool Mirza and Rana Mushtaq were represented by accused Humayun Faiz Rasool and Mian Bashir Ahmed.
According to NAB, with the connivance of then Punjab Chief Minister Nawaz Sharif, the accused Mir Shakil acquired 54 plots measuring one kanal in an exemption area. The NAB ‘s guide states that the purchase of exemption plots in one region was an infringement of the 1986 Exemption Scheme.
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“The accused Mir Shakil also added two streets with the connivance of Nawaz Sharif in the allocated plots,” the NAB prosecutor said.
He further argued that the accused Mir Shakil had the plots moved to cover up his crime in the name of his wife and children, minors at the time.
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