The Accountability Court has deferred its decision regarding the acquittal requests of Hassan Nawaz and Hussain Nawaz, the sons of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, with Accountability Court judge Nasir Javed Rana scheduled to deliver the verdict at 2 pm.
In the courtroom session, the NAB prosecutor noted that no appeal had been lodged against Maryam Nawaz’s acquittal. Hasan and Hussain Nawaz are accused of involvement in conspiracy and aiding and abetting, while the primary accused in their case has been absolved of charges. Qazi Misbah Advocate highlighted that Nawaz Sharif was acquitted by the Islamabad High Court based on the same documents that led to Maryam Nawaz’s acquittal.
Furthermore, Qazi Misbah Advocate presented Nawaz Sharif’s acquittal decision and argued that if the primary accused is acquitted, the case cannot proceed on charges of aiding and abetting. He emphasized that in the flagship reference, Nawaz Sharif had been cleared by the trial court, and NAB had withdrawn its appeal against the trial court’s decision on November 29, 2023.
Qazi Misbah Advocate also pointed out that the accountability court’s decision has now reached finality. He recalled the Al-Azizia reference, where Nawaz Sharif was initially sentenced by the trial court but later acquitted by the Islamabad High Court on December 12, 2023. The NAB Prosecutor mentioned that in the Al-Azizia reference, they had withdrawn the appeal to increase Nawaz Sharif’s sentence.
Qazi Misbah Advocate underscored that NAB did not pursue an appeal to the Supreme Court against the acquittal decision. He argued that even if all evidence is considered, there is no likelihood of punishment.
