IHC to hear Nawaz’s appeal against Al-Azizia reference on Dec 18

NAB’s appeal seeking an increase in Nawaz’s sentence will also be heard on the same day

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Saturday fixed December 18 to hear former premier Nawaz Sharif’s appeal against his sentence in the Al-Azizia reference.



According to the registrar's office, a divisional bench comprising Justice Amir Farooq and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani will hear the petition filed by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo.

NAB’s appeal for an increase in the of Al-Azizia reference sentence will also be heard on the same day.

Nawaz, who is currently in London for medical treatment, was handed a seven-year prison term and fined Rs1.5 billion by accountability Judge Arshad Malik in the Al-Azizia corruption reference filed by the anti-graft watchdog following the Supreme Court’s Panamagate judgment.

In July this year, PML-N Vice-President Maryam Nawaz had unveiled a controversial video purportedly showing Judge Malik confessing that he was “pressurised” into convicting Nawaz in the Al-Azizia case sans any evidence following which the judge was barred by the law ministry from serving on the post.



However, Judge Malik in an affidavit submitted to the IHC had denied the allegations and claimed that he was “blackmailed” and offered a hefty bribe by the Sharif family to acquit the former premier.

Nawaz had then requested the court to give an early verdict on his appeal in view of Judge Arshad Malik’s video scandal.