ISLAMABAD: A year after convicting Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Maryam Nawaz in the Avenfield properties reference, the accountability court of Islamabad on Tuesday sent her a notice for submitting a `fake` trust deed related to the properties in court.

The notice asks Ms Nawaz or her counsel to appear in court on July 19 torespond to the application filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) seeking initiation of proceedings against her for presenting the `fake` trust deed before the investigation team and the judge of the accountability court.

Ms Nawaz has recently released an alleged video of accountability judge Mohammad Arshad Malik who had convicted her father and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in the Al-Azizia reference, which has created a controversy among political and judicial circles.

Another accountability judge, Mohammad Bashir, on July 6 last year had also convicted Mr Sharif and his daughter Maryam in the Avenfield properties reference and sentenced them to 10 years and seven years imprisonment, respectively.In the verdict, the judge declared that `the trust deeds produced by the accused Maryam Nawaz were also found bogus...in view of role of this accused Mst Maryam Nawaz, she is convicted and sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for seven years with fine of two million pounds`.

NAB`s Deputy Prosecutor General Sardar Muzaffar Khan Abbasi on Tuesday filed the application seeking action against Ms Nawaz for producing the bogus trust deed before the accountability court to conceal the London properties.

According to the application, `the above conclusion by this Honourable Court was reached af ter evaluating the entire evidence, hence, it is apparent that the respondent has maliciously fabricated and tendered false evidence/ information with the intention to mislead the due process of law and trial and hamper the administration of justice.

When Judge Bashir asked the prosecutor on what grounds would the court proceed in this matter, Mr Abbasi pointed out that the judge had the power to initiate action against Ms Nawaz under section 30 of the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO) 1999 read with Serial No. 03 of the Schedule of the NAO 1999.

Sub Section `a` of Section 30 of the NAO says, `On pronouncement of judgement, the court shall have the jurisdiction and power to take cognizance of any offence committed in the course of the investigating or trial of a case by any officer, any witness, including an expert, who has tendered falseevidence in the case.

However, Sub Section `c` of the Section 30 says that the prosecution might file an application in this regard within 30 days after pronouncement of the judgement. `The proceedings under sub-section (a) may be initiated by the Court on its own accord at any time after the decision of the case or, in the event that there is an appeal, after the decision thereof, or on an application made by the [prosecution or the accused tried by the court] within thirty days.

Serial No 3 of the Schedule of the NAO 1999 reads, `Giving false information or fabricating false evidence during inquiry into or investigation of an offence by the NAB or any agency authorised by the NAB` entails `Rigorous imprisonment for a term, which may extend to five years.

PML-N reaction Commenting on the court notice, PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb said, `[Prime Minister] Imran Khan has issued the notice to Maryam Nawaz through NAB after the authenticity of the video of judge was proved.

Ms Aurangzeb said that Ms Nawaz was the daughter of Nawaz Sharif and she was never afraid of such `threats` She further said that the Islamabad High Court had already suspended the sentence handed over to Ms Nawaz and Mr Sharif and NAB, without checking basic facts, had asked the court to proceed against Ms Nawaz.

The PML-N spokesperson said that NAB had committed contempt of court by filing the application seeking action against Ms Nawaz.