Pakistani anti-graft court defers Sharif’s indictment till Oct 19

TIL Desk/World/Islamabad/ An anti-corruption court today adjourned the indictment of Pakistan’s ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter and son-in-law in the Panama Papers case till October 19 after lawyers created chaos in the court.

The National Accountability Bureau had registered three cases of corruption and money laundering against 67-year-old Sharif, his family members and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar in the Islamabad Accountability Court.

The cases were registered weeks after the Supreme Court disqualified Sharif as prime minister on July 28 in the Panama Papers scandal.

As the court was about to begin the proceedings, lawyers started protesting in the courtroom of Judge Muhammad Bashir against security arrangements which had “restricted their movement in the court premises”.

The lawyers threatened to hold up the hearing until action was taken against the police officers that had allegedly manhandled them outside the court. As a result of the ruckus, Judge Bashir left the courtroom and later announced the postponement of the hearing till October 19.