IHC issues notice to NAB on Nawaz’s protective bail pleas

• Bail petition filed for the Avenfield and Al-Azizia cases.
• Nawaz set to return on October 21 after four-year exile.
• PML-N chief also declared proclaimed offender in Toshakhana case.

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday issued a notice to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif’s petitions seeking protective bail in Al-Azizia and Avenfiled references.

The protective bail petitions were filed in the IHC by Nawaz 's legal team to restrain the authorities from arresting him when he returns back to country on October 21.

IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb conducted the hearing on the bail plea and issued notice to the anti-corruption watchdog which had filed references against the former PM.

PML-N chief’s lawyer Amjad Pervez requested the IHC bench to grant protective bail to his client as he wanted to surrender before the court.

The three-time former prime minister was declared a proclaimed offender by IHC in the Avenfield and Al-Azizia cases over non-compliance after he went to London for medical treatment with the court’s permission in November 2019.

In Avenfield and Al-Azizia references, Nawaz was sentenced to 10 and seven years in prison, respectively, by an accountability court in 2018.

His appeals against the convictions were dismissed by the IHC bench comprising IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Mohsin Akhtar Kayani for non-compliance.

Nawaz’s sentence in Al-Azizia reference was suspended in 2019 by the Lahore High Court (LHC) on medical grounds and he was permitted to fly to London to seek treatment, after which he did not return.

The PML-N supremo was also declared a proclaimed offender in the Toshakhana case and a separate bail petition has also been filed in an accountability court.

The former PM’s three protective bail applications sought the IHC’s direction to stop authorities from arresting Nawaz from the airport on his return to the country on October 21 to allow him to surrender before the court.

Convictions and court orders

It is pertinent to note that an accountability court sentenced the three-time prime minister in Avenfield and Al-Azizia Steel Mills references in 2018.

The sentence was challenged in the high court which had suspended the accountability court's sentence.

Appeal proceedings — for the petition challenging the sentences — were under proceedings when Nawaz travelled abroad for medical treatment and didn't return to pursue the case.

The PML-N supremo — after he moved to Lahore High Court (LHC) instead of the IHC — was allowed to go abroad for four weeks after his brother and party president Shehbaz Sharif submitted an undertaking in the court assuring Nawaz's return once his health improves.

The IHC — in the absence of the PML-N supremo — threw out the appeals on account of "non-prosecution" instead of adjourning the proceedings for an indefinite period.

The court, while declaring Nawaz as a proclaimed offender, noted that the appeals were rejected on technical grounds and not on the merits of the arguments.

The applicant can once again file an appeal against the sentence upon his return, the court added.