ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Court on Friday filed three references against former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, his three children and son-in-law, with a separate charge against incumbent Finance Minister Ishaq Dar.
Boxes of evidence were reportedly brought under heavy security from the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) satellite offices to its headquarters in Islamabad.
In compliance with a Supreme Court order on July 28, the NAB’s chairman approved the references on Thursday.
“Our legal team is looking into the charges filed,” MP Maiza Hameed of Sharif’s ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) told Arab News. “Looking at the evidence, it’s clear that Sharif’s family is being politically victimized.”
The four references were accepted by the accountability court, “and the matter has been referred for trial,” said NAB spokesperson Nawazish Ali Khan Asim.
Two clauses invoked from the 1999 NAB Ordinance against the Sharifs refer to illegal funding and undeclared gift exchanges carrying a sentence up to 14 years in prison and a freezing of assets. The reference against Dar concerns allegations of living beyond his means.
If declared guilty, the accused would forfeit positions in public office for life, ending their political careers.
The NAB chairman directed that prosecution of the cases be followed up vigorously in the accountability court. A Joint Investigation Team has asked other countries for legal assistance.
A three-member panel of Supreme Court judges is scheduled to start hearings of petitions filed by the Sharifs and Dar on Sept. 12.
Analyst Qamar Cheema, who teaches international politics at the National University of Modern Languages, told Arab News that as prime minister, “Sharif believed in concentration of power and bypassed institutions while making decisions. He ignored Parliament, but whenever he needed legitimacy he rushed back there for that.”
Cheema added: “If institutions remain steadfast, there’s the probability that some members of the Sharif family may end up behind bars.”
Pakistan’s graft watchdog files corruption references against Sharifs
Pakistan’s graft watchdog files corruption references against Sharifs
Judge grants injunction blocking US from detaining British anti-disinformation activist
- Washington imposed visa bans on Tuesday on Ahmed and four Europeans, including French former EU commissioner Thierry Breton
WASHINGTON: A US judge on Thursday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from detaining British anti-disinformation campaigner Imran Ahmed, after the US permanent resident sued officials over an entry ban for his role in what Washington argues is online censorship.
Washington imposed visa bans on Tuesday on Ahmed and four Europeans, including French former EU commissioner Thierry Breton. It accuses them of working to censor freedom of speech or unfairly target US tech giants with burdensome regulation. Ahmed lives in New York and is believed to be the only of the five currently in the country.
The move sparked an outcry from European governments who argue regulations and the work of monitoring groups made the Internet safer by highlighting false information and compelling tech giants to do more to tackle illegal content, including hate speech and child sexual abuse material.
For Ahmed, the 47-year-old CEO of the US-based Center for Countering Digital Hate, it also sparked fears of imminent deportation that would separate him from his wife and child, both US citizens, according to a lawsuit he filed on Wednesday in the Southern District of New York.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, when announcing the visa restrictions, said he had determined the presence of the five in the United States had potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States and they could therefore be deported.
Ahmed named Rubio, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and other Trump officials in his lawsuit, arguing officials were violating his rights to free speech and due process with the threat of deportation.
US District Judge Vernon Broderick issued a temporary restraining order on Thursday, which enjoined officials from arresting, detaining or transferring Ahmed before he has an opportunity for his case to be heard, and scheduled a conference between the parties for December 29.
Ahmed, in a statement provided by a representative, praised the US legal system’s checks and balances and said he was proud to call the country his home. “I will not be bullied away from my life’s work of fighting to keep children safe from social media’s harm and stopping antisemitism online,” he said.
In response to questions about the case, a State Department spokesperson said: “The Supreme Court and Congress have repeatedly made clear: the United States is under no obligation to allow foreign aliens to come to our country or reside here.”
The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment.
Legal permanent residents, known as green card holders, do not need a visa to remain in the US, but the Trump administration has attempted to deport at least one already this year.
Mahmoud Khalil, detained in March after his prominent involvement in pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University, was released by a judge who argued punishing someone over a civil immigration matter was unconstitutional.
A US immigration judge in September ordered Khalil to be deported over claims he omitted information from his green card application, but he appealed that ruling and separate orders blocking his deportation remain in place.
