The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Friday rejected a petition by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif for an extension in the bail granted to him on medical grounds.
According to details a three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa heard the petition, which the former premier had filed as he sought an extension in the bail until a decision on the review petition.
Nawaz had been granted bail on medical grounds by the apex court on March 26 for six weeks. On April 25, he had submitted a review petition in the Supreme Court seeking a permanent bail.
His bail is set to expire on May 7.
As today's hearing went under way, Chief Justice Khosa remarked that the bench "will not talk about anything concerning the future".
"Doctors can comment better on his illness," the top judge observed, adding, "This was part of the package that you can request for a bail extension after six weeks."
"We will have to see whether we review our order or not," he added.
Nawaz, thrice the prime minister of Pakistan, had been in jail since December 2018 following his conviction in Al Azizia corruption reference in line with the Supreme Court’s July 2017 verdict. An accountability court on December 24 had found the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader guilty in the Al Azizia Steel Mills reference and sentenced him to seven years in prison.
