ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani accountability court on Thursday suspended the arrest warrants of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s nephews Hassan and Hussain Nawaz in three graft references and approved their bails, local media widely reported.
Hussain and Hassan, sons of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, returned to Pakistan on Tuesday after six years. Like their father, both had been living in the United Kingdom in self-imposed exile since 2018.
Both left the country in 2018 after they were named in three corruption cases linked to the Panama Papers scandal. Hassan and Hussain were declared proclaimed offenders by an accountability court in Islamabad for not joining the investigation and court proceedings. Their arrest warrants were subsequently issued.
Through their counsel Qazi Misbahul Hassan, Hassan and Hussain had filed an application seeking the suspension of warrants issued against them in the references, which was accepted by the court. They were granted relief until Thursday, Mar. 14.
“An accountability court on Thursday approved bail of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s sons, Hassan and Hussain Nawaz, in exchange for Rs50,000 bond each in the three references pertaining to Al-Azizia Steel Mill, Avenfield apartments and Flagship,” Pakistani news website Geo.tv reported.
The court adjourned further hearing of the case till Friday at the request of the defendants, the report said.
Hassan and Hussain’s father, Nawaz Sharif, arrived in Pakistan in October last year after nearly four years of self-imposed exile. Nawaz was found guilty in 2017 of dishonest practices, which qualified for a ban under the 2018 ruling. However, he left Pakistan in 2019 after obtaining a court-approved bail in 2019 for treatment abroad.
Last year, the courts overturned the convictions. Political analysts suspected the move was part of the Pakistani military’s plan to grant relief to Nawaz after it had a falling out with his rival, former prime minister Imran Khan. Pakistan’s military has repeatedly rejected allegations it interferes in political matters.
