By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday reinstated the appeals of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif against his convictions in two corruption cases, paving the way for a possible review of his sentences.
Sharif, who returned to Pakistan last week after nearly four years in self-exile in London, had sought protective bail and restoration of his appeals in the Avenfield Apartments and Al-Azizia Steel Mills references.
Sharif, who served three times as prime minister, was declared a proclaimed offender by the IHC in December 2020 for failing to appear before the court.
A two-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb announced the verdict after hearing arguments from Sharif’s lawyers and the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), the country’s anti-graft watchdog.
The court also extended Sharif’s protective bail till Nov. 2 and directed him to submit surety bonds of Rs10 million in each case.
Sharif, who leads the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party, appeared before the court along with his younger brother and former prime minister Shehbaz Sharif.
The elder Sharif was convicted and sentenced to prison in both cases by an accountability court in 2018, following a Supreme Court order that disqualified him from holding public office over undeclared assets.
In the Avenfield case, he was given 10 years in jail for owning luxury properties in London beyond his known sources of income. In the Al-Azizia case, Sharif was handed seven years in jail for failing to account for the source of funds used to set up a steel mill in Saudi Arabia.
He was also fined Rs1.5 billion and $25 million in the two cases, respectively.
Sharif was released from jail in 2019 on medical grounds and allowed to travel to London for treatment. He remained there until last week when he flew back to Pakistan on reportedly a deal with the powerful military.
During Thursday’s hearing, NAB Prosecutor General Ehtesham Qadir Shah told the court that the bureau had no objection to restoring Sharif’s appeals, but insisted that they should be decided on merit and not dismissed on technical grounds.
Shah said the references against Sharif were filed in compliance with the Supreme Court’s order and approved by the NAB chairman.
Sharif’s lawyers argued that his right to appeal should be reinstated as soon as he appeared before the court and that the warrants against him should be cancelled.
They also contended that Sharif’s role was crucial in deciding the appeals of his daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law Muhammad Safdar, who were also convicted in the Avenfield case but later granted bail by the IHC.
The court accepted their arguments and restored Sharif’s appeals, noting that he had surrendered himself and was at the disposal of the court. The court also ordered NAB to submit its reply on Sharif’s bail pleas by Nov. 2, when the next hearing will take place.
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