The two-judge bench comprising Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani heard the appeals against the convictions of Maryam and Captain (retd) Safdar in the Avenfield case.
The court accepted the appeal of PML-N vice president and her husband Safdar after four years because of the absence of evidence in Avenfield Apartments corruption reference, saying the case lacked foundation from the beginning.
In July 2018, Maryam was convicted and her husband was sentenced to one year in prison, however, they were both on bail since September 2018.
It has been stated by NAB before the IHC that Maryam Nawaz had no direct role in purchasing the Avenfield properties in London.
It is reported that during the hearing today, the NAB prosecutor, Usman Rashid Cheema, who had previously argued the case, did not appear in court because he was sick. Instead, Sardar Muzaffar Abbasi, who had previously represented the accountability watchdog in court, represented him instead.
“I won’t delve into the background of the case, I’ll start from where the arguments ended,” said Abbasi.
Despite having answered several questions of the NAB prosecution, Abbasi still failed to satisfy the court.
“The connection between Maryam Nawaz and Nawaz Sharif beyond means has not been proven,” the court said.
“It is pertinent to note that Zia was the Special Investigating Officer (SI) who headed the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) that probed Panamagate, resulting in the disqualification of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif. “How do Wajid Zia’s statement and the material presented prove the prosecution’s case?” the IHC asked. It may be noted that Zia was the investigating officer (IO) who headed the joint investigation team (JIT) that probed the Panamagate, leading to the disqualification of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.
“Zia had seen all of these records before,” argued Abbasi, but the court seemed unimpressed by the answer.
“What is Maryam Nawaz’s link with Nawaz Sharif in the assets case?” inquired Justice Amir Farooq. “You have not provided a single link yet,” the judge observed.
“I will show it from the documents as well,” the NAB prosecutor responded.
“The IO’s observations cannot be presented as proof,” Justice Kiyani remarked. “The JIT provided no proof,” he further observed.
Later the court announced its verdict ordering the acquittal of Maryam Nawaz and Captain Safdar and declared the seven-year imprisonment sentence illegal.
