Two-judge IHC bench to hear Nawaz’s appeal against Al Azizia verdict

Former PM seeks release on bail until court ruling

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Saturday constituted a two-member bench to hear on January 7 the revised application filed by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif that sought suspension of sentence awarded to him by an accountability court in Islamabad last month in the Al-Azizia reference.

The bench, comprising Chief Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Amir Farooq, would consider Nawaz’s application for release on bail until the court gave its verdict. It says that sending Nawaz to jail on the basis of Dec 24 verdict would be a violation of his basic rights.



It was the third time that Nawaz moved the petition.

On January 2, his counsel Khawaja Haris filed an appeal against the verdict in the IHC, but it was returned with the court registrar’s objections.

Again on January 3, Nawaz moved the court but the registrar again raised objections and returned the plea.

On Saturday, Nawaz moved his petition through his counsel Munawar Iqbal Duggal, challenging the accountability court’s decision of awarding a seven-year imprisonment to Nawaz with a fine of Rs1.5 billion and $25 million in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills reference. The court had acquitted him in the Flagship reference.



The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has also filed an appeal against the acquittal of Nawaz in the Flagship reference. The anti-graft body has also challenged the Al-Azizia verdict, with a request to increase the duration of the sentence.