• IHC, accountability court restrain authorities from arresting PML-N supremo till 24th
• PTI terms court decision ‘murder of justice’, PPP sees ‘unique decision’ part of pre-poll rigging

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court on Thursday provided protective bail to former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in Avenfield and Al-Azizia references till Oct 24 after the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) did not oppose the petitions filed by the PML-N supreme leader ahead of his return from self-imposed exile on Saturday.

On the other hand, an Islamabad accountability court seized with the Toshakhana case, also suspended the perpetual arrest warrants issued against the ex-premier in the graft cases involving a vehicle.

After his legal team moved the high court on Wednesday, a division bench comprising Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb took up the pleas and issued notices to NAB. Deputy Prosecutor General Naeem Tariq Sanghera and special prosecutors Muhammad Rafay Maqsood and Muhammad Afzal Qureshi appea­red before the court on Thursday.

Mr Sanghera informed the bench — echoing the stance of the special prosecutor from Wednesday — that he had been instructed by the NAB prosecutor general to state that the bureau had no objections to the grant of relief to the PML-N supremo in the instant petition.

The division bench noted that since NAB “accorded its consent” and decided not to contest the petitions, let the petitioner appear before this court on Oct 24.

“Meanwhile, he shall not be arrested on his arrival in Pakistan until he surrenders before this court,” the bench ruled. The court observed the order was issued “with the consent of the learned deputy prosecutor general, NAB Headquarters”.

Similarly, the accountability court was informed that the accused intended to appear before the court to face the proceedings. The counsel representing Mr Sharif said his client was abroad for medical treatment when the reference was filed. He argued that none of the accused, including former president Asif Ali Zardari and ex-premier Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, were arrested.

The lawyer argued the non-bailable perpetual warrants of arrest were issued due to the non-appearance of Mr Sharif but now the accused intended to appear before the court. He stated that Mr Sharif had not fully recovered and requested the suspension of warrants to enable his appearance before the court.

Accountability judge Bashir suspended the warrants till Oct 24. The judge, however, issued a directive that “if he [Mr Sharif] does not appear in the court on the date cited above, the NAB shall execute the warrants and produce him in the court in accordance with law”.

Mr Sharif was convicted in Avenfield and Al-Azizia references in July 2018. In Nov 2019, he went to London for medical treatment and did not return. Subsequently, he was declared a proclaimed offender in all these cases.

Ahead of his arrival on Saturday to lead his party into polls slated to be held in Jan next year, he moved the court for bail. The petitions stated brief facts about the Panama Papers case and how it was instituted. The pleas stated that Mr Sharif and his family members had been subjected to “political victimisation at the hands of anti-democratic forces”.

PPP and PTI unhappy

The IHC decision to provide bail to the former prime minister did not sit well with the PPP and the PTI, with both political parties saying the ruling was against the law.

In a statement issued by the PTI, the spokesperson said it was ‘darkest day’ in the country’s judicial history and termed the decision “murder of justice and law”.

The PTI spokesperson reminded that the nation fought a long and hard fight for judicial independence but the same judiciary undermined the law and justice through their own “flawed and compromised” decisions.

The spokesperson alleged that a part of the judiciary was playing the role of “an open facilitator in the ongoing political engineering”.

Separately, the PPP’s Punjab leadership alleged that “favours and concessions were being showered on a particular party as the caretaker government and some institutions were openly facilitating” the PML-N.

They said the protective bail for Mr Sharif was a unique decision in judicial history.

The PPP leaders alleged that the selection and recruitment policy for the upcoming election had been exposed, adding the NAB’s “favourable” attitude towards Mr Sharif was saying a lot about the new “favourite”.

They said the PPP would expose the “pre-ballot rigging” of the PML-N everywhere.

Amjad Mahmood in Lahore and Ikram Junaidi also contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, October 20th, 2023