Warrants
ISLAMABAD: An Accountability Court in Islamabad suspended the arrest warrants for Nawaz Sharif till Oct 24 in the Toshakhana case.
The Accountability Court Judge Muhammad Bashir issued his reserved its decision on Nawaz Sharif’s plea of suspending arrest warrants.
Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has submitted a request to the accountability court in Islamabad to suspend the perpetual warrants issued against him.
Following the presentation of arguments, the court reserved its decision on the matter on Thursday.
Advocate Qazi Misbah, appearing in Judge Muhammad Bashir’s court, conveyed that Nawaz Sharif intends to face the legal cases against him in court.
He further mentioned that Nawaz is scheduled to return on October 21, and therefore, he requested the suspension of the warrants until October 24.
The National Accountability Bureau Prosecutor, Sohail Arif, informed the court that he had no objections if the accused is willing to surrender in court.
However, the judge raised questions about the perpetual warrants issued back in October 2020 and inquired why Nawaz Sharif had not appeared in court since then.
In response, the lawyer explained that Nawaz had left the country on medical grounds, and his petition was still pending in the Lahore High Court.
Consequently, the judge has decided to reserve the decision regarding the suspension of the warrants, which will be announced at a later time.
Meanwhile, the Islamabad High Court will take up hearing of the plea of Nawaz Sharif regarding protective bail to appear in the court.
The court has sought response from the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) today concerning PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif’s petitions for protective bail in the Al-Azizia and Avenfield references. The IHC is conducting a hearing on the petition on Thursday (Oct 19).
Nawaz Sharif’s legal team submitted these protective bail petitions to the IHC, aiming to prevent his arrest upon his planned return to the country on October 21.
Nawaz Sharif was declared a proclaimed offender by the IHC in the Avenfield and Al-Azizia cases due to non-compliance after he traveled to London for medical treatment with the court’s approval in November 2019.
In the Avenfield and Al-Azizia references, Nawaz Sharif received sentences of 10 and seven years in prison, respectively, from an accountability court in 2018.
His appeals against these convictions were dismissed by the IHC bench, comprising IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, due to his non-compliance.
In the Al-Azizia reference, Nawaz Sharif’s sentence was suspended on medical grounds in 2019 by the Lahore High Court (LHC), granting him permission to travel to London for medical treatment, after which he did not return.
Earlier, PML-N lawyers today filed a petition in the Islamabad High Court seeking protective bail for Nawaz Sharif, former prime minister and N-League’s top leader.
In the petition, the lawyers urged the court to grant protective bail to Nawaz Sharif to reach the court for personal appearance.
Nawaz Sharif is scheduled to land in Islamabad on Oct 21. PML-N lawyers are trying to get protective bail for their leader before he reaches the capital city of Pakistan.
