اردو
  • Nawaz challenges imprisonment in Al-Azizia case

    Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif File Photo Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif

    The lawyers of ousted prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, on Saturday re-submitted an appeal at the Islamabad High Court (IHC) against the accountability court verdict sentencing Sharif in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills case.

    The appeal was first filed by the legal team of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo on January 1, but it was returned by the registrar office after it marked a few objections on it.

    Counsel of Sharif, Munawar Iqbal, addressed all objections on the appeal and re-filed it today at the IHC.

    The registrar office will now again examine the plea and subsequently put it up before the court for hearing.

    On December 24, the accountability court announced its verdict in two National Accountability Bureau’s references namely Al-Azizia Steel Mill and Flagship Investment and punished Sharif to seven years in prison and ordered him to pay $25million as fine.

    However, he was acquitted of all charges in the Flagship Investment case.

    The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on January 3 moved two appeals in the IHC challenging the accountability court verdict in the Al-Azizia and Flagship Investment references against Nawaz Sharif.

    In an appeal to the IHC, the anti-graft watchdog pleaded to increase the sentence awarded to Sharif in the Al-Azizia case and overturn his acquittal in the Flagship reference.

    “The accountability court passed the impugned judgment in slipshod and a cursory manner without adverting to evidence available on record,” reads the petition.

    “There is absolute misreading and non-reading of the evidence tendered by the prosecution so much so that the prosecution witnesses stood the test of being sagacious and tendered un-implacable deposition despite lengthy cross examination.”

    In another appeal challenging the Al-Azizia case verdict, NAB stated that the prosecution had presented ample evidence beyond any shadow of doubt to prove its case. “No mitigating circumstances were available in the case justifying the sentence of 7 years instead of a maximum of 15 years.”