The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has declared former prime minister Nawaz Sharif a proclaimed offender in Avenfield and Al-Azizia Steel Mills references.
A two-judge bench of the IHC decided to declare the PML-N supremo a fugitive over his failure to appear before it despite being summoned repeatedly.
Justice Aamer Farooq said the court will pass a short order regarding the proclamation of the convicted former premier and will also issue show-cause notices to the sureties.
Nawaz, who was convicted over corruption by the accountability court, had flown to London in November 2019, after the federal government gave him rare permission to travel abroad for medical treatment.
During Wednesday proceedings, the court recorded the statements of three witnesses and completed proceedings regarding the proclamation process. The hearing of the case was adjourned till December 9.
An IHC bench on September 15 issued the former premier’s non-bailable arrest warrants after he failed to appear before the bench for hearing of his appeals against his conviction in Al-Azizia and Avenfield cases.
Later, the bench started the process of declaring the PML-N supreme leader an absconder and ordered authorities to publish advertisements or proclamations in London-based newspapers, summoning Nawaz on November 24. The IHC had noted that if Nawaz did not appear in the court within 30 days after publication of the ads, he would be declared an absconder.