Court orders prosecution to present final arguments in Al-Azizia reference

ISLAMABAD (92 News) – The Accountability Court on Wednesday ordered National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to give its final arguments in the case. Judge Arshad Malik announced the court’s decision over the issue of final arguments in the case, which had been reserved during the last hearing after listening to the objections of both the sides. In the last hearing, NAB’s prosecutor had requested the court to order the defence lawyer to present the final arguments in the case as the accused had submitted some new documents in his defence. Meanwhile, Nawaz’s counsel said that the documents were presented in the accused’s defence, and opposed to prosecution’s request. On the other side, the accountability court handed over a questionnaire to disqualified prime minister Nawaz Sharif for recording his statement under Section 342 in the Flagship Investment reference. He further said that the people who had used the equipment of his family’s Ittefaq Steel Mills were also ready to appear before the court as witnesses. Later, the questionnaire consisting of 62 questions was handed over to the defence after Nawaz’s counsel Khawaja Haris concluded his cross-examination of NAB’s Investigation Officer Muhammad Kamran. The accountability watchdog would also submit its statement in the court regarding the completion of evidence in the said reference. Earlier, NAB IO Kamran informed the trial court that former premier did not mention certain companies owned by his son Hassan Nawaz during his address on the floor of National Assembly (NA).