An accountability court resumed hearing the Al-Azizia corruption reference against Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday.
Accountability Court II Judge Arshad Malik was presiding over the case.
As the hearing went under way, defence counsel Khawaja Haris apprised the court that Nawaz's wife Begum Kulsoom had passed away.
Stating that he was informed today that Nawaz had been taken to Lahore on parole after Begum Kulsoom's death, Haris said he had not received instructions to continue with the proceedings in his client's absence.
Judge Malik then remarked that Begum Kulsoom was a national figure and it was not appropriate to continue with the proceedings today.
The hearing was then adjourned till Thursday.
The trial
The trial against the Sharif family commenced on September 14, 2017.
On July 6, after four extensions in the original six-month deadline to conclude all three cases, the court announced its verdict in the Avenfield reference.
Nawaz and his sons, Hussain and Hasan, are accused in all three references whereas Maryam and Safdar were accused in the Avenfield reference only.
The two brothers, based abroad, have been absconding since the proceedings began last year and were declared proclaimed offenders by the court.
On July 10, the Supreme Court granted another six-week extension for Accountability Court-I Judge Mohammad Bashir to conclude the remaining corruption references against Nawaz and former finance minister Ishaq Dar.
