Hussain and Hassan, sons of PML-N supreme leader Nawaz Sharif, returned to Pakistan on Tuesday, six years after they left for London to avoid arrest in corruption cases related to the Panama Papers scandal.
Their return was made possible after an accountability court last week suspended their arrest warrants in three corruption cases linked to the Panama Papers scandal. Both had been residing in the United Kingdom in self-imposed exile, akin to their father.
The PML-N downplayed the arrival of Hussain and Hassan Nawaz, keeping it a "low-key" affair without informing the media. They landed at Lahore airport from London and were escorted to their Jati Umra residence under tight security by the Punjab police.
Both departed from the country in 2018 after being implicated in corruption cases, leading to their declaration as proclaimed offenders for evading investigation and court proceedings, resulting in the issuance of arrest warrants against them.
Meanwhile, the Islamabad accountability court temporarily suspended the arrest warrants of Hussain and Hassan until March 14 in the Avenfield apartments, Al-Azizia, and Flagship Investment corruption references. Through their counsel Qazi Misbahul Hassan, they filed an application seeking the suspension of warrants issued against them in these cases, which the court accepted.
In their petition, they expressed their intention to surrender before the court "in good faith" to confront the proceedings and committed to appearing before the court by March 14.
The court concurred with the NAB prosecutor's argument that "the purpose of the perpetual warrant of arrest is to procure the attendance of the accused, and if the accused intends to surrender himself before the court, they may be allowed to face the trial."
In their written reply to the Supreme Court in the Panama Papers case, Hussain acknowledged owning offshore properties, while Hassan categorically denied owning any property abroad. However, both of the accused are supposed to surrender before the court today, and at the same time face trial in their alleged offshore disproportionate assets case.
The Panama Papers scandal implicated the Nawaz family, particularly former Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif and his children Hussain and Hassan Nawaz.
The leaked documents revealed that Nawaz Sharif's children owned offshore companies and assets, including luxury properties in London, which they had not disclosed in their wealth declarations in Pakistan.
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