Nawaz gets relief from courts after ‘surrendering’ to law

ISLAMABAD:

Former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday surrendered before the Islamabad High Court (IHC), seeking restoration of his appeals against his sentencing in the Al-Azizia and Avenfield references as well as extension in his bail.

Before appearing in the IHC, the three-time former prime minister secured bail from an accountability court in the Toshakhana case.

His legal team submitted surety bonds worth Rs1 million in the court after the bail was secured.

A division bench of the IHC led by Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and comprising Miangul Hasan Aurangzeb issued notices to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on the plea for the restoration of Nawaz’s appeals and extended his bail.
Nawaz was convicted by an accountability court in two corruption references filed by NAB.

In 2019, he was granted bail by the IHC, while his appeals against his conviction were pending. He was then allowed to travel to London for medical treatment. The PML-N Quaid returned to the country on Saturday.

For the hearing, Nawaz appeared in the court along with a team of lawyers comprising Azam Nazir Tarar, Amjad Pervaiz, and others. Senior party leaders, including PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif, were also present in the courtroom.

Tarar requested the court to restore Nawaz’s appeals.

The chief justice said, “The maintenance of appeals is not a routine matter and that the court will have to listen to NAB.” He then told the lawyer that Nawaz would have to satisfy the court as to why he was absent from the hearings.
Tarar replied that the court should first hear the requests for restoration of appeals.

He added that he would present arguments and satisfy the court that the former prime minister did not deliberately remain absent from court hearings.

Read Nawaz returns to take fourth shot at power

Justice Aurangzeb said that the court would have to issue a notice to the other side and listen to it. He then asked NAB prosecutor general about his position on the matter. The prosecutor general replied that NAB had no objection to the extension in Nawaz’s bail.

Justice Aurangzeb exclaimed whether this was the same NAB. He pointed out that often NAB would not appear in court despite notices and now the prosecutor general appeared without one.

However, Tarar apprised the court that he had given NAB an advance copy of the application.

The court asked the prosecutor general whether NAB wanted to arrest Nawaz. The NAB official said that Nawaz should not be arrested. The court also asked about any objection to the extension in Nawaz’s bail.

The prosecutor general said NAB had no objection. The court extended Nawaz’s bail and issued a notice to NAB on the request for revival of his appeal.

Later, the bench adjourned the next hearing until Thursday (tomorrow).

Earlier, an accountability court granted bail to Nawaz in the Toshakhana case and adjourned the hearing till Nov 20.Case history.

Nawaz was convicted in the Avenfield case in July 2018 and the Al-Azizia case in December of the same year. He later filed appeals against his conviction in the IHC. However, on June 24, 2021, an IHC bench led by Justice Farooq rejected the appeals due to Nawaz’s failure to appear in court for several hearings.

Nawaz, who was serving a seven-year jail term after his conviction in the Al-Azizia case, was granted a rare permission to seek medical treatment abroad in Oct 2019. However, he chose not to return to the country, leading both the IHC and the accountability court to declare him a proclaimed offender.

In its nine-page judgment of June 24, 2021, the IHC stated that as Nawaz was a "fugitive from the law", he had lost his right of audience before the court.

The court had no choice but to dismiss his appeal, the order said.

However, both the IHC and the accountability court on Oct 19, 2023 granted the former prime minister protective bail until Oct 24, 2023, ahead of his return to Pakistan after four years of self-exile in London.

The applications for the revival of appeals against his conviction were submitted by Advocate Amjad Parvaiz.

In the applications, the lawyer had requested the court to reinstate the appeals and issue an order after hearing the arguments.

The petitioner's counsel argued that the IHC had already annulled the sentences of his co-accused, Maryam Nawaz and her husband, Captain (retd) Safdar, in the Avenfield case, but rejected his appeal due to non-attendance in court hearings.

The application explained that health issues prevented Nawaz from pursuing his appeals and that he did not misuse the bail granted to him. It stated that while Nawaz was not completely healthy, he was returning to the country due to the economic challenges facing Pakistan.