Islamabad (Staff Report): The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has arrested Captain (retd) Mohammed Safdar on Monday, just after he landed at the Benazir Bhutto International Airport on his return from London, the sources reported.
According to details, a six-member NAB team waited outside Rawal Lounge of the airport for the arrest of Safdar, as the airport authorities stopped them from entering the lounge.
Following the arrest of Captain (retd) Safdar his wife Maryam Nawaz left the airport and arrived at the residence of Chaudhry Muneer - her daughter's father-in-law - in Islamabad's Sector F-6.
Captain (retd) Safdar and his wife Maryam, along with other Sharif family members, are accused in the Avenfield properties case whereas Nawaz and his sons, Hussain and Hassan, are accused in two more references: offshore companies' and Azizia Steel Mills'.
Maryam Nawaz will appear in Accountability Court for the hearing of three references related to the Panama gate case.
Accountability Court issued the arrest warrants for Safdar after he and other members of the family failed to appear before it.
Sharif and his sons Hasan and Hussain Nawaz will not be appearing and an application in this regard will be moved in the court. The court is likely to collect surety from Maryam and Safdar to ensure their appearance in the proceedings and then provide them copies of the references and records. The court may call them again within seven days to frame charges, as the indictment will not be possible in the absence of Sharif.
NAB has prepared a compliance report on the warrants for the arrest and the prosecutors will present it in the court. According to the penal code, the charges cannot be framed if all the accused are not present in court.
In this situation, the Accountability Court may separate the case of the present accused or deem those absent as absconders, legal experts reveal.
