Azizia Steel Mills case: NAB summons Nawaz, his sons tomorrow

ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Wednesday issued summons to former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, his sons Hassan Nawaz and Hussain Nawaz to appear before NAB’s Lahore office on August 18 in the Azizia Steel Mills case.

According to credible sources, the NAB team of Rawalpindi office will visit Lahore to record the statement of Nawaz Sharif, Hussain Nawaz and Hassan Nawaz.Moreover, the NAB has written a letter to the Security Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) seeking record of companies of Minister for Finance Senator Ishaq Dar, his wife, two sons and his daughter-in-law.

The summons have been issued to the Sharif family following the Supreme Court order to file four references against Nawaz Sharif and his three children by September 8.“Yes, we have summoned them on August 18 (tomorrow),” a senior official of NAB confirmed on Wednesday. The anti-graft body has summoned Finance Minister Ishaq Dar in this case as well, added the official.

“NAB under ‘mutual legal assistance’ also sought assistance of some other countries to collect some more evidence against the Sharifs’ properties abroad,” the NAB official further revealed seeking anonymity.

Sources close to members of the Sharif family said NAB summons had not been received so far. When the summons will be received, they said, members of the Sharif family will act in accordance with law.

Expanding the scope of its investigation, the NAB has initiated inquiries against six sugar mills, including two sugar mills of Nawaz Sharif’s close relatives. The bureau has to send references of ex-premier Nawaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz, Hussain Nawaz, Hassan Nawaz, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and MNA Capt (retd) Muhammad Safdar by September 8 to Rawalpindi/Islamabad accountability courts. Senior officials at NAB, Islamabad, with the cooperation of Lahore NAB Director General Shahzad Saleem and Rawalpindi NAB Director General Nasir Mirza are working on the final draft of these references, informed officials said. The accountability court, following the apex court’s order, has to decide these references within six months.

Except for the Sharifs family’s four London apartments, investigators are probing sixteen other entities of Sharifs under Section 9, 10 and 15 of the NAB Ordinance 1999, added the officials.In addition to Azizia Steel Company and Hill Metal Establishment, these entities are: (i) Flagship Investments Limited, Hartstone Properties Limited, Que Holdings Limited, Quint Eaton Place 2 Limited, Quint Saloane Limited, formerly Quint Eaton Place Limited, Quaint Limited, Flagship Securities Limited, Quint GloucesterPlace Limited, Quint Paddington Limited (formerly Rivates Estates Limited), Flagship Developments Limited, Alanna Services Limited, Lankin SA (BVI), Chadron Inc, Ansbacher Inc, Coomber Inc and Capital FZE (Dubai) would also be probed by the investigators.

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar would also face a reference under the same law as the apex court observed his income increased 91 times (from Rs9.11 million to 831.70 million) in his assets within a short span of time. SC’s judge Ijazul Ahsan, who was also a part of the Panama bench, is monitoring the NAB’s operation pertaining to the Panama case order. The JIT recommended re-opening of around sixteen cases against the Sharifs; three of them were registered during the 1994 and 2011 tenures of the PPP while 12 were prepared during the Musharraf’s tenure.