ISLAMABAD: Accountability court Judge Mohammad Bashir on Friday filed an extension petition in the Supreme Court (SC) seeking more time to conclude National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) references against Sharif family.
Judge Mohammad Bashir’s extension plea will be heard in the SC today, as the deadline of concluding the references comes to an end on June 9.
The extension petition stated that the final verdict could not reached as witnesses are yet to be presented in court in Al-Azizia and Flagship Investment references. It further said that in Avenfield, the prosecution was still presenting final arguments whereas, in Al-Azizia reference case prosecution star witness Wajid Zia was being cross-examined by the defense counsel.
In the petition, Judge Bashir added that in Flagship reference case, the statements of Wajid Zia and investigating officer are yet to be recorded. Thus to conclude all three references till June 9 was impossible, so the duration should be extended.
It is pertinent to know that the deadline of NAB’s supplementary references has been extended by the SC twice before when the accountability court failed to conclude the case within 6 months, a two-month extension was granted which will be ending on June 9.