IHC directs NAB to show evidence that Nawaz Sharif acquired properties in London.

ISLAMABAD -- Islamabad High Court (IHC) Justice Aamir Farooq Tuesday remarked that the proceedings of the hearing on PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz's appeal against the sentence in Avenfield Apartments reference 'cannot move further on the basis of assumptions'.

'National Accountability Bureau (NAB) should prove through evidence that these properties were acquired by [former prime minister] Nawaz Sharif in 1990s,' he said during the hearing today.

A two-member bench comprising Justice Farooq and Judge Mohsin Akhtar Kayani heard the appeals against the conviction of Maryam and Captain (retd) Safdar.

The bench inquired about the nexus between the two offshore companies and Nawaz, through documentary evidence, urging the NAB counsel to explain how Maryam 'aided and abetted' her father in acquiring properties in London in 1993 or 2006 when the trust deed was signed.

To support his arguments, NAB special prosecutor Usman Cheema read the court's decision declaring Nawaz an offender, and in response to that, Justice Farooq clarified that Nawaz's appeal was dismissed because of his absenteeism and not on the basis of merit.

Justice Farooq also made it clear that any Supreme Court observation in the Panamagate judgment was not relevant to the decision regarding Maryam Nawaz's appeal against her conviction.

He said that the NAB has to prove whether the prosecution proved the case against Maryam before the accountability court.

"We have to see how she helped acquire these properties," Justice Farooq said, asking the...