IHC adjourns Nawaz’s pleas for protective bail

F.P. Report
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court has adjourned the hearing into petitions filed by former prime minister and PML-N Quaid Nawaz Sharif seeking protective bail in Al-Aziziya and Avenfield cases.
Issuing notice to the NAB while hearing the petitions on Wednesday, the two-judge IHC bench comprising Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb put off the hearing for Thursday (today). The IHC division bench took up the bail petitions hours after they were filed by Nawaz Sharif’s lawyers ahead of his return to the country on October 21.
Soon after the pleas were filed, the court allotted numbers to them as the registrar did not raise any objection. Former prime minister’s legal team appeared in the court. Nawaz’s lawyer, on the occasion, told the court that his client wanted to surrender. Nawaz’s lawyers requested protective bail in Al-Aziziya and Avenfield case in light of the IHC’s previous verdicts.
Lawyer Amjad Pervaiz argued that the courts have traditionally provided a chance to people who surrendered in front of the court.
He added that people declared absconders have also been given protective bails. He also added that Nawaz had never misused his bail from courts. In response, the National Accountability Bureau’s prosecutor said that there was no objection if someone wanted to surrender in front of the court. However, he said that the NAB chairman was currently outside the country.
The bench then issued notices to all parties in the case and adjourned the hearing for tomorrow. It was stated in the petition that Nawaz was due to land at Islamabad airport on October 21. “And since he will head straight to the court after arrival, therefore, the court is requested to grant him protective bail plea,” it added.
In the application, Nawaz Sharif has requested for a protective bail for surrendering before the law. He has said that he intends to face the cases against him, so the authorities should be barred from arresting him to enable him to reach the court. The application states that Nawaz Sharif will land in Islamabad on a special flight on October 21, asking for a protective bail to reach the court. In the application, Nawaz claims that undemocratic forces have targeted him and his family over political vendetta in the past.