ISLAMABAAD: The Islamabad High Court has withheld its judgment on Thursday regarding Nawaz Sharif's petition to revive his appeals against convictions in the Al-Azizia and Avenfield cases, following the National Accountability Bureau's (NAB) "no objection" submission.
The NAB, during proceedings led by Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Judge Miangul Hasan Aurangzeb, confirmed that it had no objections to the reinstatement of Nawaz's appeals. When Chief Justice Farooq asked whether NAB sought Nawaz's arrest, the prosecutor responded in the negative.
NAB Prosecutor General Ghulam Qadir Shah clarified at the outset of the hearing that a reference can only be withdrawn if it is still pending a verdict. He stated that they had reviewed both appeals along with the associated facts and legal aspects. The NAB lawyer noted that the Avenfield reference was filed on the Supreme Court's orders, and a joint investigation team had been established as per the apex court's directive. He emphasized that a criminal appeal, once admitted for hearing, cannot be retracted, dismissing media reports of NAB's 'surrender.' If the court decides to reinstate these appeals, it must be based on the merits of the case, he argued.
The prosecutor reminded the court that Nawaz's appeals had been dismissed due to non-compliance with court orders, and perpetual arrest warrants had been issued. The court had suggested taking action under the law when a proclaimed offender surrenders.
NAB reiterated that it had no objections to restoring these appeals.
Nawaz's counsel, Advocate Amjad Parvez, argued that when Nawaz's sentence was suspended, the court had evaluated the roles of all parties involved. He referred to Maryam Nawaz's acquittal, highlighting that the court had noted NAB's frequent changes in prosecutors and its failure to establish the PML-N chief's role.
He referred to past precedents and noted that he was not aware of a case in the past 30 years where appeals were not reinstated after the convict surrendered before the court.
During the hearing, Justice Aurangzeb questioned whether NAB had challenged Maryam's acquittal and remarked that her involvement was not pertinent to this case.
