Avenfield reference: Defence decides presentation of witnesses in AC today: Haris

ISLAMABAD: Khawaja Haris, the defence counsel for Nawaz Sharif, on Saturday said that they would take a final decision regarding witnesses’ presentation in the Avenfield reference during a meeting that would be held on Sunday (today) evening.

Talking exclusively to The News, he said, “We have done a lot of work, but the final decision about presentation of witnesses in the Accountability Court in the Avenfield reference will be taken tomorrow (Sunday) evening.”

“We will also prepare answers to all 127 questions till tomorrow evening and, hopefully, these will be submitted to the Accountability Court on Monday morning. Most of the consultation has been held and now we are in a process to take final decisions regarding presentation of witnesses and submission of replies to the questionnaire given by the Accountability Court,” he said.

It is pertinent to mention here that eighteen prosecution witnesses have recorded their statements in the Avenfield Reference and the defence lawyers have also completed their cross examination. It is yet to see whether the defence lawyers decide to present witnesses in the Avenfield Reference to refute the allegations leveled by the prosecution witnesses against the Sharif family members, including former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

The sources said the appearance of ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif as a witness in the Avenfield Reference is not out of question, but, in this case, he would have to face cross-examination by the prosecution witnesses.

To a question, Khawaja Haris said first they have to decide whether or not they would present witnesses and if they decide to present them in the Accountability Court then their number would be decided at the later stage.