ISLAMABAD  -  An Accountability Court (AC) on Tuesday acquit­ted Hassan Nawaz and Hussain Nawaz, sons of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif from three references including Flag­ship, Aven field Property and Al-Azizia Steel Mills. 

The court announced the verdict which was earlier reserved after hearing arguments from respondents. During the course of proceed­ing, the defence lawyer argued that Islamabad High Court (IHC) had al­ready acquitted former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz in same refer­ence. The running of trial against his clients would be wastage of court time, he said. 

National Accountabil­ity Bureau (NAB) pros­ecutor Azhar Maqbol adopted the stance that the decision of Supreme Court was not a hindrance in this case, adding that this court can announce its verdict. He said that the main accused have already been acquitted in the three references by the IHC and the prosecution didn’t challenge the verdicts. The court reserved the verdict and later acquitted the two accused while announcing the decision.