NAB gives Sharif's sons 30 days to appear in court

Islamabad, Oct 12: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) gave ousted Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's sons 30 days to appear before a court here, or they will be declared proclaimed offenders and their properties attached, the media reported on Thursday.

Hussain and Hassan have decided "in principle" not to join the proceedings of the corruption references against them, reports Dawn news.

On Wednesday, NAB officials pasted copies of the notice at the residences of the Sharif family in Lahore.

"The process of issuing red warrants for Sharif's sons will begin after the completion of 30 days (on November 10), if they do not appear before court," an NAB prosecutor told Dawn news.

On Monday, the accountability court ordered the NAB to initiate the process of declaring the former premier's sons proclaimed offenders, as they have consistently skipped proceedings in three graft references pertaining to their London flats and the establishment of offshore companies.

Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law, retired Captain Muhammad Safdar, will be indicted on Friday.

According to a Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader, Hassan and Hussain have chosen to invoke their foreign citizenship in order to skip the court proceedings in Pakistan.

"They are foreign citizens and Pakistani laws do not apply to them, therefore they are unlikely to join the court proceedings against them here," he told Dawn news.