ISLAMABAD - The jailed former prime minister Mian Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday complained that the Adyala Jail authorities were allowing him to meet his imprisoned daughter Maryam Nawaz only once in a week on the visitors’ day.
The former premier said this as he was produced before the Accountability Court in Al-Azizia corruption reference amid foolproof security.
After imprisonment, Sharif for the first time got an opportunity to have an informal conversation with journalists inside the premises of the Accountability Court. Sharif was asked by a journalist as to how did he do. All right, he responded. In response to another question, Sharif said that he offered prayers inside his cell in the jail.
When asked about meeting with his daughter Maryam Nawaz inside the jail, Sharif said that he got the opportunity to meet her only once in a week when other visitors are also allowed to meet him inside the prison. When asked that whether he was facing solitary confinement inside the jail, Sharif replied that it was like that.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz President Shahbaz Sharif and other senior PML-N leaders were also present outside the Accountability Court to welcome Mian Nawaz Sharif. During the proceedings, Investigation Officer Mehboob Alam while recording his statement in Al-Azizia reference told the court that Nawaz Sharif held key government offices from 1981 to 2017, adding that he being an influential member of Sharif family mounted assets of the family enormously within a short period of time. He also told the court that assets owned by the Sharif family surpassed $50.49 million mark during 2001-2002.
The IO also told the court that during this period of time, the Sharif family also owned properties outside Pakistan in various countries but the family did not provide details of their foreign assets in government records, adding that the family also did not provide any documented evidence relating to transactions of wealth transferred from Pakistan to other countries.
The IO said that Hussain Nawaz Sharif had acknowledged ownership of Al-Azizia and Hill Metal assets. Defence counsel for Mian Nawaz Sharif, Khawaja Harris, did not appear in the court. In this perspective, Judge Accountability Court Muhammad Arshad adjourned hearing into Al-Azizia and Flagship Investment references till August 20, 2018.
