Observer Report
Islamabad
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) was informed on Wednesday that former premier and PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif was ready to comply with the arrest warrants earlier issued by the court.
During hearing, Additional Attorney General Tariq Khokhar informed the two-member bench hearing appeals against Nawaz’s sentence that a secretary of the PML-N leader’s son had contacted the Consulate Affairs Office of the Pakistan High Commission and conveyed that Nawaz was willing to comply with the warrants.
The secretary, Waqar Ahmed, reportedly told the diplomatic mission that they can serve the warrants to Nawaz, who earlier was also declared a proclaimed offender.
The court has decided to first secure Nawaz’s appearance as the appeals are arising out of the Avenfield judgement.
The Islamabad High Court bench adjourned the hearing of appeals of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz, and son-in-law Capt (retd) Muhammad Safdar until December 9.
Justice Farooq remarked that if the court was told for sure as to how many days this process can take, it would have fixed the date for the next hearing accordingly. The counsel suggested adjourning the hearing for an indefinite period, saying as soon as the government receives any response, it will inform the court about it.
During the hearing, Additional Attorney General Tariq Khokhar requested the bench to grant some time to submit a compliance report about the execution of arrest warrants against Nawaz through London’s county court. To a question, he replied that this process can take at least 15 days. He said the Pakistan High Commission in London dispatched the warrants to the Avenfield residence of the former premier by courier, where a person received the warrants and signed the receipt.
At this, Justice Farooq remarked that if the court was told for sure as to how many days this process can take, it would have fixed the date for the next hearing accordingly. The counsel suggested adjourning the hearing for an indefinite period, saying as soon as the government receives any response, it would inform the court about it.Observing that the bench can’t adjourn the case for a longer period, the court put off the hearing until September 30 when it will take up the matter related to the arrest warrants. However, the appeals would be heard on December 9.
