The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday decided to hear PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif’s appeal against his conviction in the Al-Azizia reference on merit.
This means that the court will be hearing the actual substance of the case which includes the charge, the defense, the weight of evidence, etc., as opposed to matters of procedure or jurisdiction.
Analysts said it effectively means the case was being expedited as the merits stage is the final stage before a decision is made, deeming it an important development for Nawaz.
The decision was taken by a division bench comprising IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurang¬zeb. The same bench had acquitted the PML-N leader in the Avenfield reference on November 29.
The Al-Azizia Steel Mills corruption reference pertains to a case in which he was sentenced to seven years in jail on Dec 24, 2018. He was also fined Rs1.5 billion and US$25 million.
The reference pertains to the Sharifs being unable to justify the source of the funds provided to set up Al-Azizia Steel Mills and Hill Metal Establishment (HME) in Saudi Arabia.
The IHC had declared him a proclaimed offender in the case in December 2020. After leaving for London on medical grounds, Nawaz remained there for nearly four years and only returned to the country in October this year.
Soon after his return, Nawaz had formally filed two separate applications seeking restoration of his appeals against the conviction in reference.
In the application, the PML-N supreme leader had said that while he was abroad for medical treatment, the pending appeals were dismissed for non-prosecution. The application requested the court to revive the pending appeals to decide on these pleas on merit.
The IHC had on Oct 24 revived Nawaz’s appeals in the two references.
Ahead of the hearing today, Nawaz arrived at IHC along with senior PML-N leaders Ishaq Dar, Azam Nazeer Tarar and others.
As the proceedings commenced, PML-N lawyer Amjad Pervaiz said his client’s appeal was against the Dec 2018 verdict in the Al-Azizia reference.
Justice Farooq inquired if the case was linked to the Panama Papers to which Pervaiz replied in the affirmative. The lawyer said three references were filed in the Panama cases: Al-Azizia, Avenfield and Flagship Investment references.
“An accountability court had acquitted Nawaz in the Flagship reference,” he recalled, adding that the aforementioned three references were the outcome of one Supreme Court judgment. Subsequently, the hearing was adjourned till Tuesday, Dec 12.
