Former Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif has had his appeals of his conviction in the Avenfield and Al-Azizia corruption charges accepted by the high court in the capital, ISLAMABAD.
Applications will be heard today [Tuesday] by a special division bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC), presided over by Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and also including Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb.
In July 2018, Nawaz Sharif was found guilty in the Avenfield case, and in December of the same year, he was found guilty in the Al-Azizia case. Subsequently, he appealed his conviction in the International Criminal Court.
Nawaz failed to show up to court for multiple hearings, therefore on June 24, 2021, a bench of the IHC led by Justice Farooq dismissed the appeals.
Nawaz, who was convicted in the Al-Azizia case and sentenced to seven years in prison, was granted unusual permission to travel overseas for medical treatment in October 2019.
Based on his status as a “fugitive from the law,” the IHC ruled in its nine-page judgement issued on June 24, 2021. According to the order, the court was powerless to hear his appeal.
On October 19, 2023, however, the IHC and the accountability court granted the former premier protective bail until October 24, 2023, allowing him to return to Pakistan from four years of self-imposed exile in London.
Attorney Amjad Parvaiz has filed applications to reopen appeals of his conviction. The applications ask the court to hear the parties’ arguments and then rule on whether or not the appeals should be reinstated.
Petitioner’s attorney claims Nawaz was in London at the time of the Avenfield conviction in July 2018. Kulsoom Nawaz, his wife, was on a ventilator at the time.
Due to her sickness, he asked the trial court to postpone announcing the verdict, but the court denied his request. According to the application, Nawaz eventually went back to Pakistan with his daughter Maryam Nawaz to serve out the remainder of his term.
It also states that the IHC dismissed his appeal because he had not shown up to any of the court proceedings, despite the fact that the IHC had already overturned the convictions of his co-accused Maryam and her husband, Captain Safdar, in the Avenfield case.
Nawaz Sharif’s health prevented him from appealing, and he didn’t abuse his bail, according to his application. Nawaz Sharif is not in perfect condition, but he returned to Pakistan because of the country’s economic woes, according to the report.
According to the application, the former prime minister never jumped bail and couldn’t make it to court owing to health problems. The Lahore High Court (LHC) has repeatedly received medical reports.
