Islamabad: The lawyer representing former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Monday recused himself from the case pertaining to the corruption references filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) against the Sharif family.
Khawaja Haris and his team withdrew from the case, saying that they cannot pursue these cases under pressure.
“The court can’t do justice to the case under this pressure,” Haris said as he formally recused from the case as accountability Judge Muhammad Bashir continued proceedings in the Al-Azizia reference.
The reaction from the lawyer came after the Supreme Court instructed the accountability court to wrap up proceedings within a month by conducting hearings daily including Saturdays.
Haris said it was not possible for him to work even on Saturdays and Sundays, which are official weekly court holidays.
On Sunday, the Supreme Court’s two-member bench led by Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar granted the accountability court a 30-day extension and deadline to conclude all three references and suggested that the hearings for the case be held on a daily basis, even on Saturdays. NAB court judge has been asked to finalise the hearing as early as possible so that
Following the withdrawal of his power of attorney, the accountability judge asked Nawaz if he would like to engage another lawyer or would he attempt to convince Haris to continue with the case. Nawaz responded that he needs time to make a decision and requested the court to adjourn proceedings for a few days.
Reacting on the development, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Fawad Chaudhry on Monday claimed that withdrawal of Nawaz Sharif’s counsel Khawaja Haris from the case is an attempt by the Sharif family to escape judgement in the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) references filed against them.
“The lawyer’s withdrawal from the case is an attempt by the Sharif family to escape judgement in the references filed against them,” the PTI leader said in a press briefing. “Nawaz and his family do not have any evidence that they can present in court in their defence,” he claimed.
Nawaz and his family is facing three corruption references in the accountability court — Avenfield Properties, Al-Azizia Steel Mills and Flagship Investments — which accuse them of money laundering, tax evasion and hiding offshore assets.
On July 28, 2017, the top court announced the Panama Papers verdict and disqualified Nawaz Sharif from the post of prime minister, giving six months’ time to the accountability court to conclude the trial. The first deadline ended in mid-March, the second on June 9 after which another one-month extension was given by the Supreme Court.
