Value of Sharif family’s property estimated at Rs5.16 bn: report

LONDON: The total value of the properties of ex-prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his family is estimated at £32 million (approx Rs5.16 billion) with London’s swankiest addresses, Daily Mail has revealed.

According to the revelations, the Avenfield House is where super-rich Nawaz Sharif has lived when in London since 1993. He shares this property with his two sons Hassan and Hussain, his daughter Maryam and son-in-law Captain (retd) Safdar. It is just the kind of property that Russian oligarchs possessed in recent years.

“The family has made huge profits from other sites which have not figured in court such as the swankiest address of all, at One Hyde Park Place, which Nawaz Sharif’s son Hassan sold for £43 million,” the report claimed. For the past few months, the Sharifs are facing a trial related to the Avenfield flats and other references in an accountability court. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) prosecutor has alleged the ex-PM of making the property with dirty money. The verdicts of Avenfield reference is likely to be announced this week. If found guilty, Sharifs’ assets will be seized while they will also face fines and jail sentences. – NNI

Our correspondents add: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan referred to a report in the British Daily Mail regarding the properties owned by the Sharifs in London. “More on how the Pakistani nation's wealth was looted through money laundering by corrupt rulers and their families,” he wrote in a Twitter message. He also uploaded the article and images of Avenfield flats. About his poll campaign, Imran wrote, “Started my election campaign 2018 today from my hometown of Mianwali. An amazing response from the people who are passionate for Naya Pakistan to give them justice and end corruption.”

Meanwhile, the PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb said the publication of a report with a specific slant is a deliberate attempt on the part of the newspaper to influence the outcome of the cases against the Sharif family being heard in Pakistan. She said it is not only regrettable but also a breach of the recognised principle of impartiality of the media.

Responding to a news report carried by Daily Mail, she said the printing of the report at a time when the case against the former prime minister has entered a crucial phase negated his and his family’s legal right to defend themselves and give personal explanations. She said it would raise questions about the outcome of the case.

The spokesperson said the publication of the report by the British newspaper on the eve of elections is a conspiracy to benefit the political opponents of the PML-N. She said the failure of the newspaper not to accommodate the version of the Sharif family in detail also indicated the dishonesty.

Marriyum said the report is a replicate of the material used for character assassination in the past and is designed only to raise those unfounded allegations. She said publishing the archaic allegations and concocted stories repeatedly could not transform them into reality.

The spokesperson said the newspaper was known for its specific political affiliations and the paper itself and its owner had also been accused of similar sinister indiscretions in the past. She said this reality corroborated that the carrying of the report by the newspaper is not a coincidence. The ploy to create obstructions in the way of the PML-N and Nawaz Sharif is not new, she said.