Nawaz's legal team files yet another appeal in SC

Nawaz's health cited as reason to hear bail application at the earliest

Ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Monday filed an appeal in the Supreme Court (SC) requesting an early hearing of the bail application submitted in the Al Azizia reference.

Nawaz’s lawyer filed the appeal on his behalf, with the petition stating that although an appeal was filed to hear the case on March 6, it was rejected by court.

The appeal further prayed upon the court to hear the bail application this week, citing Nawaz’s health and the sensitivity of the matter as reasons.

Earlier, Maryam Nawaz expressed joy over the SC’s decision to uphold an Islamabad High Court (IHC) verdict that had ordered the suspension of sentences awarded to the Sharif family in the Avenfield corruption reference.

The apex court rejected the appeal filed by the National Accountability Bureau against the high court judgement.



The anti-corruption watchdog had challenged the IHC’s September 2018 order, and requested the apex court not only to set aside the order but also to direct the appellate court to take up the appeals for hearing.

After almost 10 months of continuous trial, an accountability court in July 2018 found former premier and two family members guilty in the Avenfield Apartments reference.

The court sentenced Sharif to 10 years, Maryam seven years, and son-in-law, Captain (retd) Muhammad Safdar, to one-year rigorous imprisonment.

After the IHC order, the ousted PM, Maryam and Safdar were released on bail from Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail.

Sharif, however, was later sentenced to seven years in prison after being found guilty in the Al Azizia Steel Mills reference in December last year. He remains incarcerated at the Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat jail.

NAB had filed three corruption references against the Sharif family on the top court’s directives in the landmark July 28, 2017 Panama Papers verdict, which deseated Sharif as the prime minister.