The Islamabad High Court has granted an extension to Nawaz Sharif’s protective bail in the Avenfield and Al-Azizia cases, where he was previously convicted, until October 26.
This decision was made after the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) expressed no objections to the plea submitted by the former prime minister.
A division bench of the IHC, led by Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb, issued this order, addressing Nawaz’s requests for protective bail and the reinstatement of his appeals against his convictions.
In the Avenfield case from July 2018, Nawaz was sentenced to 10 years in prison for holding assets beyond his known income and one year for non-cooperation with NAB.
These sentences were to be served concurrently. The Al-Azizia Steel Mills case resulted in a seven-year prison sentence on December 24, 2018, along with significant fines.
Nawaz was released from jail in March 2019, went to London in November 2019 following Lahore High Court’s permission, and was declared a proclaimed offender in both cases in December 2020.
The IHC had previously confirmed Nawaz’s protective bail until October 24, allowing him to return home on October 21. During the recent proceedings, Nawaz appeared in court with his brother Shehbaz Sharif, and other party leaders.
The discussion during the hearing primarily revolved around the restoration of appeals against Nawaz’s conviction. The judges emphasized that the petitioner (Nawaz) needed to explain his absences from the court, and it had to be proven that these absences were not deliberate or ill-intentioned.
The Lahore High Court’s permission for Nawaz to leave the country due to medical reasons was questioned by the judges, highlighting the need for the court to be satisfied with the reasons.
At one point, Nawaz’s party requested an extension of his protective bail to prepare for further arguments, and the prosecutor general of NAB confirmed that NAB had no objections to the appeal’s restoration or the extension of protective bail.
This led to some surprise and inquiry from the judges regarding NAB’s stance. They asked for a definitive position from NAB and issued notices for the next hearing, while also extending Nawaz’s protective bail until Thursday. When asked about his participation in upcoming elections, Nawaz responded with a smile.
