TIL Desk/World/Colombo/ An anti-corruption court in Pakistan on Wednesday said it will deliver judgment on December 24 in two remaining corruption cases against ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif. Judge Muhammad Arshad Malik of Islamabad-based accountability court reserved judgment after completion of hearing in the Flagship Investment and Al-Azizia cases against 68-year-old Sharif.
The verdict will be announced on December 24, which is the revised deadline set by the Supreme Court to wrap up the remaining two corruption cases against the three-time former prime minister. If found guilty, Sharif can be sentenced up to 14 years in jail. The accountability court had indicted Sharif for holding assets beyond his known sources of income in August 2017.
The judge rejected application by Sharif’s lawyer Khawaja Harris to provide one week time to submit more documents but allowed him to provide any document by Friday. The judge also observed that the court was bound to follow December 24 final deadline set by the Supreme Court. Three cases Avenfield properties case, Flagship Investment case and Al-Azizia steel mills case – were launched by the National Accountability Bureau on September 8, 2017 following a judgment by the apex court that disqualified Sharif.