Daily Times

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has fixed April 28 to hear appeals of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz and Captain (r) Safdar against accountability courts’ verdicts in the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) references.

A divisional bench of the IHC comprising Justice Umar Farooq and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani will hear the combined petitions in the case. The petitions include those filed against the verdict in the Avenfield Apartment and Al Azizia Steel Mills references, according to the IHC registrar office. The court will also hear NAB’s plea pertaining to Nawaz’s exoneration in the Flagship reference and fresh sentencing in the Al Azizia reference. Moreover, the IHC will hear Maryam Nawaz and her husband Captain (r) Safdar’s petition against their sentences by the accountability court.

A day earlier, the IHC had instructed its registrar office to fix appeals for hearing in graft references pertaining to Al-Azizia Steel Mills, Flagship Investment and the Avenfield property against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif. A division bench comprising Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Mohsin Akhter Kiyani had disposed of the petition of NAB for early hearing of the above appeals.

At the outset of the hearing, the registrar office had produced its report to the bench regarding the policies for the fixation of cases in wake of the third wave of Covid-19. The court had asked the NAB that if a representative of Nawaz Sharif was required to be appointed or not. The bench had remarked that all appeals would be heard together, adding that there were a total of six appeals that were pending before this court filed by NAB, Nawaz, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and Capt (r) Safdar.

The NAB had informed the court that Special Prosecutor Jahanzeb Bharwana had been infected by Covid-19, while Deputy Prosecutor General Sardar Muzafar Abbasi had also symptoms of the virus. Both could not appear before the court under their current circumstances. The court had subsequently disposed of the NAB’s plea for early fixation of appeals and instructed the registrar office to fix the cases for hearing as per the policy.

It may be mentioned here that NAB had filed an appeal against the acquittal of Nawaz from the Flagship Investment reference and also pleaded to extend his imprisonment sentence in Al-Azizia Steel Mills reference.