NAB wants to grill Nawaz in Chaudhry Sugar Mills case

ISLAMABAD: An accountability court in Islamabad turned down, on Friday, an application of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) seeking court’s permission to investigate former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case.

While turning down the application, Accountability Court Judge Mohammad Bashir directed NAB to approach the relevant court as the case doesn’t fall within the jurisdiction of the capital’s court.

When the case was taken up, a NAB prosecutor submitted the application to the court saying the Bureau wanted to investigate the ex-PM in the case. The judge noted that the application couldn’t be accepted because the case falls within the jurisdiction of courts located in Lahore. Subsequently, he rejected the application.

On December 24, 2018, Accountability Court Judge Mohammad Arshad Malik had convicted Nawaz Sharif in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills Company (ASCL) and Hill Metal Establishment (HME) reference and awarded him seven years imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs1.5 billion and $25 million. Former PM is currently serving imprisonment in Kot Lakhpat Jail, Lahore. Earlier, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice-President Maryam Nawaz had appeared before the NAB Lahore’s investigation team to record her statement in Chaudhry Sugar Mills case.

Following the appearance, NAB had handed over a questionnaire to the PML-N leader and summoned her again on August 8 saying “she could not answer about buying share(s) of Chaudhry Sugar Mills.”