ISLAMABAD: Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has filed a petition in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) against his conviction in the Avenfield and Al-Azizia references.
A two-judge bench comprising Justice Aamir Farooq and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani will hear the case. The petition filed in the IHC has taken a stand that the former prime minister is undergoing treatment abroad due to illness. It is not possible to appear in the court due to being abroad, as per the petition.
The hearing of references against Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz will be held tomorrow. Maryam Nawaz has decided to appear in the IHC. On the other hand, in the Avonfield reference, the lawyer of Maryam Nawaz and her husband has also filed a petition that both are on leave till 5th September, so the appeal should be fixed for another hearing.
The National Accountability Bureau had filed three references against Nawaz Sharif and his children after the Supreme Court ruled in the Panama Papers case. Nawaz Sharif’s lawyer Khawaja Haris filed two applications in the IHC requesting exemption from personal appearance on his behalf on medical grounds. It has been stated in the petitions that Nawaz Sharif abroad seeking medical treatment and can’t appear before the court tomorrow.
In the Avenfield reference, the Sharif family is accused of using illicit means to buy four residential apartments near Park Lane, the most expensive areas in London.
The accountability court had sentenced Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam and his son-in-law Captain (retd) Safdar to jail, imprisonment, and fine.
The accused appealed to the Islamabad High Court against the sentence, which quashed the sentences in September 2018, after which Nawaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz, and Captain Safdar were released from jail.
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The accountability court, in the Azizia reference, had sentenced Nawaz Sharif to seven years in prison, a ban on holding any public office for ten years, confiscation of all property in his name, and a fine.
