Pakistan: Court to hear Nawaz Sharif's appeal against Al-Azizia reference

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) will hear former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's appeal against his sentence in the Al-Aziza reference case will be heard on November 25. A two-member bench of IHC headed by Justice Amir Farooq will reportedly conduct the proceedings of the case. The politician who was earlier in National Accountability Bureau (NAB) custody over corruption charges has requested the court to give an early verdict on the appeal in view of Judge Arshad Malik's video scandal. Sharif had also filed a petition through his counsel for exemption from hearing before the court, following his recent failing health.

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The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief's sentence had been suspended for eight weeks and he had gone abroad with the permission of Lahore High Court to read the petition. In such circumstances, he was unable to attend the court hearings, it added. Advocate Ibrahim Haroon would appear before the court on Nawaz's behalf. 

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Nawaz's failing health and removal of the travel ban

Nawaz was convicted in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills Company (ASCL) and Hill Metal Establishment (HME) reference and awarded seven years imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 1.5 billion and USD 25 million by Accountability Court Judge Mohammad Arshad Malik on December 24. Yet the former premiere was granted bail last month on medical grounds. His party and family members have been working on getting him removed from a travel ban list to allow him to seek treatment overseas. Pakistan government had demanded that Sharif pay a bond of 7 billion Pakistani Rupees (estimated USD 45 million) as a condition of his travel abroad which the PML-N rejected. He was finally allowed to leave his home in Lahore to travel to London for treatment following an undertaking to the court that he would return to Pakistan within four weeks. He is currently in London for medical treatment. Earlier he was diagnosed with acute immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), a bleeding disorder, in which the immune system destroys platelets. Sharif denies all charges of corruption against him.

(With inputs from agencies)

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