The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday adjourned the appeals of former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif against his convictions in the Avenfield Apartments and Al-Azizia Steel Mills corruption cases till Wednesday.
In 2018, Sharif was sentenced to 10 years in jail in the Avenfield properties reference for owning assets beyond known income and one year for not cooperating with the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). He was also sentenced to seven years in jail in the Al-Azizia case.
The IHC declared Sharif a proclaimed offender in both cases in December 2020 after he left for London on medical grounds. He returned to Pakistan last month.
In July 2021, Sharif filed applications seeking the restoration of his appeals against his conviction in both cases. The IHC restored the appeals in November 2021.
Hearing
The hearing took place at the IHC by a two-member bench headed by Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb.
At the commencement of the hearing, Nawaz’s lawyer, Amjad Pervaiz, presented his arguments before the court.
Responding to the court’s inquiry about the origin of the presented facts, Pervaiz clarified that three facts predated the reference filing, while the rest were subsequent.
Drawing upon the Supreme Court’s (SC) ruling in the Panama Papers case, which led to Nawaz’s disqualification, Pervaiz reminded the court of the establishment of a joint investigation team (JIT) in response to the verdict.
Justice Aurangzeb questioned the relevance of Pervaiz’s arguments. In response, the counsel provided the court with details about the JIT’s formation and members.
He informed the IHC that the JIT submitted a comprehensive 12-volume report to the apex court in July 2017.
