ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has written to interior ministry on Wednesday to include names of former premier Nawaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz and Captain (r) Safdar in Exit Control List (ECL) asserting that it is possible that the accused attempt to flee the country.

A letter written to the ministry by NAB requests the authority to put ousted premier Nawaz, leader of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Maryam Nawaz and her husband Safdar who are being tried in accountability court for corruption, in ECL.

Sources privy to the accountability department have reported that trial of PML-N president and two leaders of the political party is approaching conclusion.

Reacting to NAB’s plea, senator Pervaiz Rashid has said that the bureau should not target those who are facing trials and that the Sharif family holds itself answerable before the courts.

Nawaz Sharif among the three accused are attending hearings of courts with consistency. There have been times during the trials when the family members appeared before courts twice in a day, he added.

The senator said that the family members have flown out of Pakistan and returned for court hearings multiple times since the trials began. The former information minister said that the ruling PML-N party brought back politicians who deemed of themselves above courts’ orders and allegedly escaped accountability.

The senator branded NAB’s request to the ministry an effort to influence accountability court’s verdict.

To London and back

Sons of the disqualified premier reside outside Pakistan, in London and he along with his daughter Maryam and son-in-law Safdar have flown to London multiple times after his disqualification on July 28, 2017.

Wife of the ousted premier Kulsoom Nawaz is undergoing medical treatment for lymph nodes cancer in a London hospital since September 2017 and has not returned since then.

Nawaz among the three accused have been visiting the relative in London and returning to Pakistan to attend court hearings.

Kulsoom Nawaz was elected to the National Assembly (NA) on September 18 after she won by-election in NA-120 constituency by 13,268 votes against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf s (PTI) Dr Yasmin.

Kulsoom Nawaz contested the by-election after husband Nawaz Sharif was disqualified as the premier of Pakistan in corruption probe by the apex court.

Nawaz Sharif had flown to Saudi Arabia in October last year, over two months after his disqualification and days after he was indicted in corruption references, to perform Umrah, from where he left for London to see his ailing wife.

Supplementary references

Earlier today, National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Wednesday will file supplementary references against ex-prime minister Nawaz Sharif in accountability court over Al Azizia and Flagship cases.

Chairman NAB Justice (r) Javed Iqbal has also given green signal to the bureau to submit the references.

It is to be mentioned here that evidence against Nawaz Sharif, his sons Hassan and Hussain Nawaz will be part of the references while new details regarding offshore companies of Hassan and Hussain will also be included.