A high court on Thursday reserved its judgment on former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif's plea seeking restoration of appeals against his conviction in the Al-Aziza and Avenfield corruption cases after the national anti-graft watchdog submitted "no objection".
Sharif, accompanied by his younger brother and PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif, appeared in the Islamabad High Court for the second time since his return back to Pakistan from London on October 21 after a self-exile of about four years.
He was granted a protective bail until October 24 when he appeared before the court to surrender and also filed pleas for revival of his appeals in the Avenfield to Al-Azizia steel mill cases.
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The court after the initial hearing had issued notice to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and adjourned the hearing until today.
During the hearing, the NAB prosecutor informed the court that the anti-corruption watchdog was not interested in the arrest of 73-year-old Sharif, while his counsel pressed for restoration of appeals. NAB also refused to oppose the plea by Sharif’s lawyers.
The court after the conclusion of the arguments reserved judgment which it was expected to announce any time in the evening.
However, given the nature of the case and non-opposition by NAB, it was highly likely that his appeal would be restored.
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On Tuesday, the caretaker government of Pakistan's Punjab province had suspended Sharif’s seven-year sentence in the Al-Azizia corruption case.
Sharif was convicted in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills corruption case and sentenced to seven years in jail in December 2018. He was also convicted in July 2018 by an accountability court in the Avenfield properties case and sentenced to 10 years in jail. He was arrested and put in jail but set free after being given bail while his appeals against acquittal in the case were pending.
His daughter Maryam Nawaz was also sentenced to seven years in jail in the case but was acquitted in September 2022 along with her husband Muhammad Safdar.
The IHC declared him a proclaimed offender in both cases in December 2020.
Sharif was disqualified in 2017 and later in 2018 convicted in the two cases of corruption. He has always denied allegations of any wrongdoing and termed his conviction orchestrated by the powerful establishment in collusion with the judiciary.
