Al-Azizia case: Nawaz’s lawyer files bail petition in IHC

F.P. Report

ISLAMABAD: The lawyer of ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif has filed a bail petition in the Al-Azizia reference case in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on the basis of his medical report, on Saturday.

According to reports, the petition has sought bail and suspension of Nawaz Sharif’s sentence with a reasoning that he has been suffering from a heart disease.

His medical report has also been submitted with the petition.

Earlier on December 24, the accountability court on December 24 convicted Sharif in the Al-Azizia reference and sentenced him to seven years in prison, and acquitted him in the Flagship reference case filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in Mega corruption scandal.

Contrarily, the NAB has also filed two appeals in the IHC, the first has sought an extension in Sharif’s sentence from seven to 14 years, and the other has challenged his acquittal in the Flagship Investment reference.

In the 131-page judgement written by the accountability court judge Arshad Malik, reasons of his conviction were mentioned. It said that the prosecution has successfully established all the ingredients of the offence of corruption committed by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, and that he has failed to provide legal money trail of his assets.

Later, Sharif was arrested from the premises of the accountability court.

After spending a night at the Adiyala Jail in Rawalpindi, he was shifted to the Kot Lakhpat Jail in Lahore.

Earlier, the NAB had filed three cases including Avenfield, Al-Azizia Steel Mills and Hill Metal Establishment and offshore companies, including Flagship Investment Limited — against the Sharifs on the Supreme Court’s directives in the July 2017 Panamagate verdict. The trial commenced later in September that year.