LAHORE: An accountability court on Monday indicted former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s principal secretary Fawad Hassan Fawad in the assets beyond means case.
Accountability Judge Muhammad Akmal read out charges to Fawad and three members of his family namely Rubab Hassan, Waqar Hassan, and Anjum Hassan. The accused denied all charges and opted to contest them.
The court issued notices to prosecution witnesses to appear and record their testimonies. Fawad was a highly influential diplomat and the principal secretary of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.
In January this year, the Lahore High Court (LHC) had granted bail to Fawad Hassan Fawad in the assets beyond known means of income case. The court directed Fawad to submit surety bonds worth Rs10 million to avail the bail.
His counsel Amjad Pervaiz argued before a two-member bench headed by Justice Ali Baqar Najafi that his client was arrested without any justification in the reference. He said the NAB has failed to present any evidence in support of its charges against his client.
The counsel argued that the NAB arrested his client in 2018, but still he was not indicted in the case. He submitted that it was claimed that Fawad owned assets worth billions of rupees but the reference only mentioned assets worth Rs108 million.