IHC restores Nawaz Sharif's appeals against his conviction in Avenfield & Al-Azizia references

ISLAMABAD (92 News) - The Islamabad High Court (IHC) restored the appeals filed by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif against his conviction in the Avenfield and Al-Azizia references on Thursday.

The bench comprising of IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Gull Hassan Aurangzeb announced the verdict.

The NAB did not oppose the restoration of the appeals. "Do you want to arrest Nawaz Sharif?" the court inquired the NAB prosecutor who said that they did not want to arrest him.

The prosecutor said that the NAB could only ask for fresh surety bonds. "The court can restore the appeals if the suspension of sentence has not been withdrawn," he contended.

On Monday, the legal team of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Quaid Muhammad Nawaz Sharif filed applications to the Islamabad High Court (IHC), seeking the restoration of appeals in Avenfield property and Al-Azizia Steel Mills references.

In the petitions, PLL-N leader Nawaz Sharif stated that he had not completely recovered from the ailment, adding he decided to return country due to the miserable economic condition of the country. He said that he was awarded the imprisonment sentence by the accountability court in his absence on July 6, 2018.

He said that his wife was under medical treatment and on the ventilator in a hospital of London. He had requested the trial court to delay the judgment but the request was rejected at that time. "Despite the fact, I came back to Pakistan, faced the jail and filed appeals against his convictions," he added.

He said that the co-accused including Maryam Nawaz and her husband, had already been acquitted in Avenfield property case. The application said that the appeals were terminated the in absence of the petitioner.

It said that the former prime minister couldn’t appear before the court due to his health issues, adding he had not misused his bail in manner. It also said that the petitioner had been submitting his medical reports to the Lahore High Court (LHC).