IHC restores Nawaz Sharif's pleas in Avenfield, Al-Azizia cases

Islamabad: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) restored pleas of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif seeking restoration of appeals against accountability courts' conviction verdicts in the Avenfield and Al-Azizia cases on Thursday. 

Nawaz, a thrice-ousted prime minister, appeared in person before an IHC division bench — led by Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and comprising Justice Miangul Hasan Aurangzeb — which heard his pleas against the sentences awarded to him in the two graft cases.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) informed the bench that it has no objections to revival of Nawaz's pleas. 

When asked if NAB would defend the judgments against Nawaz in its arguments upon the restoration of appeals, the anti-corruption body said that it will review the case and evidences before giving its arguments. 

The capital's high court had granted a protective bail to the PML-N supremo on October 19, allowing him to return safely to the country and appear before the court on October 24.

Then, on October 24, after the anti-graft watchdog told the court that it had no objections to the pleas filed by Nawaz, the three-time deposed premier's bail in the Avenfield and Al-Azizia cases was extended till October 26.

Moreover, Punjab government approved suspension of Nawaz's sentence in Al-Azizia reference on that same day. 

The ousted prime minister was handed down a 10-year jail sentence in the Avenfield properties corruption reference for owning assets beyond known income in July 2018 and a year for not cooperating with the anit-graft watchdog — both of the sentences were to be served concurrently.

In the Al-Azizia Steel Mills corruption reference, Nawaz was sentenced to seven years in jail on December 24, 2018, and then taken to Rawalpindi's Adiala Jail from where he was shifted to Lahore's Kot Lakhpat jail the next day.

Moreover, in the middle of his seven-year prison sentence, Nawaz—who has been living in self-imposed exile since 2019—left for London for health reasons. The elder Sharif returned to Pakistan on October 21.

Earlier, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday reserved its verdict on Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif’s pleas in Avenfield and Al-Azizia conviction.