The last prosecution witness in the Flagship Investment reference, an investigation officer of the National Accountability Bureau, admitted during cross-examination on Monday that the anti-graft body had no proof that both sons of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif were dependent upon him for the business they established.
Appearing before an accountability court, NAB investigation officer Mohammad Kamran also testified that during the investigation he did not come across any witness or evidence that directly linked the former premier with the Flagship Investment and other 16 UK-based companies owned by his sons.
As per the report prepared by a six-member Joint Investigation Team (JIT), headed by additional director general of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Wajid Zia, Hussain Nawaz established Al-Azizia and Hill Metal Steel Mills when Mr Sharif was in exile following the October 1999 military coup that toppled the PML-N government, while he along with his brother Hassan Nawaz started business in the UK in 2001.
Mr Kamran said that during the investigation “no person who joined the investigation had made any oral or written statement that accused Hussain Nawaz Sharif and Hassan Nawaz Sharif were dependent[s] of accused Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif in the year 2000 or at any time thereafter”.
