Daily Times

An Islamabad High Court (IHC) bench on Tuesday issued notices to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman and others on a fresh petition by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif seeking release from Kot Lakhpat prison on medical grounds in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills case.

Justice Amir Farooqi and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani conducted the hearing, during which Nawaz’s lawyer Khawaja Haris gave arguments.

“This is the second plea for Nawaz Sharif’s bail on medical grounds,” Haris told the court.

On this, Justice Kiyani asked if a new medical report of Nawaz had been presented.

Nawaz’s medical report after March 26 was later presented in the IHC.

When Justice Kiyani asked Haris whether Nawaz was being treated, he admitted, “Yes, he is undergoing thorough treatment, but his condition is not stable.”

The IHC later adjourned the hearing for two weeks before sending notices in the case.

Nawaz moved the court on Monday, seeking suspension of his seven-year sentence and grant of post arrest bail on medical grounds. Opinions of specialist doctors from Switzerland, the US and the UK have been included in his petition.

It was said in the reports that tension and stress could prove to be threatening to Nawaz’s life. Even Nawaz’s blood and sugar levels had not normalised, the petition added.

Nawaz’s lawyer also rejected the impression that the petition was aimed at allowing Sharif a chance to get treatment abroad and secure any deal.

“The propaganda launched by the government functionaries/political opponents of the petitioner, and a particular segment of the print and electronic media, to the effect that the petitioner is seeking bail on medical grounds for his treatment abroad, is actually seeking an NRO, is not only tantamount to contempt of court, it is also malicious and false to the knowledge of such politicians and TV anchors, and stands comprehensively refuted by the past conduct of the petitioner.”