• Lawyer tells bench PML-N supremo to land in capital on Saturday
• NAB prosecutor sees no objections if ex-PM wants to pursue cases

ISLAMABAD: The PML-N’s lawyers on Wednesday moved the Islamabad High Court (IHC) seeking protective bail for party supreme leader Nawaz Sharif in the Avenfield and Al-Azizia cases ahead of his return from London on Saturday, with a NAB lawyer saying the accountability watchdog did not object to pleas moved by the elder Sharif.

The former premier through his special attorney filed two petitions to enable his surrender in the Avenfield Apartments and Al-Azizia references pending. The case was heard by a division bench comprising Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb.

Mr Sharif also sought suspension of his perpetual arrest warrants from the accountability court issued against him for being a proclaimed offender in the Toshakhana vehicle case.

NAB Special Prosecutor Afzal Quershi had reached the courtroom much earlier than the legal team of the PML-N. Mr Qureshi did not object to the bail application of Mr Sharif and in response to a bench query about the reason for his presence in the court, he said he was instructed by the anti-graft watchdog to appear before the bench.

When the bench asked him about NAB’s stance on these petitions, the prosecutor replied that the NAB had “no objections” if Mr Sharif intended to pursue the cases. Justice Aurangzeb took a swipe at the watchdog, saying the court could also set aside the conviction of Mr Sharif as well if the NAB wants.

Arguing before the bench, Mr Pervaiz said that the trial court convicted Nawaz Sharif and sentenced him in absentia but he returned along with his daughter Maryam Nawaz to face the legal challenges.

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He said that Mr Sharif sought suspension of sentence in both cases and went abroad for medical treatment after seeking permission from the relevant quarters.

He said that the IHC declared him a proclaimed offender in both cases. Justice Aurangzeb retorted that Mr Sharif was declared a proclaimed offender for jumping his bail.

At this, Azam Tarar argued that the case of Mr Sharif is of a “peculiar nature and cannot be treated at par with the other cases”. He requested the court to grant five-day protective bail to enable Mr Sharif to file appeals which were dismissed for non-prosecution.

In response to a court query, Mr Pervaiz said that Mr Sharif will land in Islamabad on Oct 21. The court issued notice to the NAB and adjourned the hearing till Thursday (today).

Legal team at IHC

The legal team of Mr Sharif comprising Amjad Pervaiz, Azam Nazir Tarar, Ataullah Tarar, Barrister Jahangir Khan Jadoon, Arshad Jadoon and others reached the IHC in the afternoon. The petitions were filed at 1:15, but the court started hearing them after a couple of hours.

Unlike the legal team of the PTI that keeps track of the petitions of their leader Imran Khan, the PML-N legal team preferred to keep waiting at the office of the president of the Islamabad High Court Bar Association (IHCBA). However, the IHCBA president also accompanied the legal team to the courtroom of Chief Justice Aamer Farooq.

Since the matter was related to the NAB, therefore, the protective bail could only be placed before the division bench. The regular division bench of the IHC Chief Justice was with Justice Babar Sattar.

Since Justice Sattar was not available in the late afternoon because of his personal commitments, a special bench was constituted which consisted of Justice Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb.

The 24-page identical petitions stated the brief facts about the Panama leaks case and how the cases were instituted in the accountability court against the former prime minister. It stated Mr Sharif and his family members were subjected to “political victimisation at the hands of anti-democratic forces”.

Published in Dawn, October 19th, 2023