The Islamabad High Court on Monday adjourned the PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif’s appeals against his convictions in the Avenfield Apartments and Al-Azizia references till Wednesday. In July 2018, as the then-prime minister, Nawaz was handed 10 years in jail in the Avenfield properties corruption reference for owning assets beyond known income and one year for not cooperating with the National Accountability Bureau, both of which were to be served concurrently.
The Al-Azizia Steel Mills corruption reference pertains to the case in which he was sentenced to seven years in jail on Dec 24, 2018. He was also fined Rs1.5 billion and US$25 million.
The IHC had declared him a proclaimed offender in both cases in December 2020. After leaving for London on medical grounds, Nawaz remained there for nearly four years and only returned to the country last month.
After returning from the UK, the PML-N leader had filed two separate applications seeking the restoration of his appeals against his conviction in both the references.
He had contended that while he was abroad for medical treatment, the pending appeals were dismissed for non-prosecution. The applications requested the court to revive the pending appeals for a decision on them on merit. Last month, the IHC had restored the appeals in question.
Ahead of Monday’s hearing, Nawaz arrived in court amid tight security. He appeared before the court accompanied by his legal team, including ex-law minister Azam Nazir Tarar and Amjad Pervaiz.
