The Islamabad High Court observed on Thursday that it will hear Pakistan Muslim League-N supremo Nawaz Sharif’s appeal against his conviction in the Al-Azizia reference on merit.
A two-member bench comprising IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hasan Aurangzeb heard the former prime minister’s appeal, scheduled along with the National Accountability Bureau’s plea seeking an extension in his sentence, rendered in June 2018.
The capital’s high court had admitted applications for the revival of Sharif’s appeals against his conviction in the Avenfield and Al-Azizia corruption references last month.
The term “on the merits” pertains to a legal case where the decision is based on the application of the law to the specific evidence and facts presented in that case. This stands in contrast to cases whose decisions hinge on procedural considerations.
However, the high court rejected NAB’s request to remand the case back to the accountability court, and declare Nawaz’s conviction in the case as null and void.
Nawaz’s counsel, Amjad Pervaiz, informed the court today that NAB filed different references on the same charges against the PML-N supremo on the orders of the Supreme Court).
He argued that the accountability court had acquitted Nawaz in the flagship reference. “We had submitted an application requesting for one reference to be filed on an allegation,” Pervaiz said, adding however, that the court, on November 8, 2017, observed that all three references will be disposed of together.
