Daily Times

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday issued a detailed written order regarding revival of appeals of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Quaid Muhammad Nawaz Sharif against his conviction in the NAB references. Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb, in the seven-page order, said the request of the petitioner to restore his appeals in Al-Azizia Steel Mills and Avenfield Property references had been approved. However, the division bench would decide the appeals on merit. It stated that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had clearly stated that it had no intention to arrest the former prime minister. It further said that the petitioner was not arrested under the interim order of the court after he arrived Pakistan. The interim relief of not arresting Nawaz Sharif was extended for two days by the court. The verdict said that the court had served notices to respondents on October 24, on the petitions of Nawaz Sharif for restoration of his appeals and accepted the case for restoration of appeals on October 26. It further said that in the Al-Azizia reference, the sentence of the petitioner had been suspended by the Punjab Government under section 401 (2) of the CRPC. The decision said that NAB’s prosecutor general also did not oppose the restoration of the appeals, hence, the appeals were restored with all legal effects.