AC terminates Nawaz Sharif’s perpetual arrest warrant

ISLAMABAD: An Accountability Court on Tuesday cancelled the perpetual arrest warrant of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Quaid Nawaz Sharif in the Toshakhana reference.

AC Judge Muhammad Bashir heard the case wherein former prime minister Nawaz Sharif appeared before the court along with his legal team.

Former prime minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, who is also named in the case, also appeared while the court granted one time exemption from attendance to ex-president Asif Ali Zardari.

During the course of the hearing, Nawaz Sharif’s lawyer Qazi Misbah filed three separate applications for release of his client’s confiscated property, appointment of a pleader in the case and submission of bail bonds in the Toshakhana reference, the official news agency reported.

To the court’s query, the lawyer replied that Advocate Rana Muhammad Irfan was the pleader, who was present in the court. He said that Nawaz Sharif would appear whenever the court would summon him.

The court said that copies of the case would be distributed on the next date of hearing. The court issued a notice to NAB on the request for release of confiscated property and sought its response.

On the occasion, NAB prosecutor Sohail Arif said the arrest warrants of Nawaz Sharif should be terminated after he surrendered before court so that his trial could be proceeded.

The court accepted the bail of Nawaz Sharif against surety bonds of Rs1 million and stopped the NAB from arresting him.

The case was then adjourned till November 20.

The National Accountability Bureau, in the reference, has alleged that Nawaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari had obtained bulletproof vehicles from the Toshakhana during the regime of Yusuf Raza Gilani.

Meanwhile, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday extended the protective bail of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Quaid Nawaz Sharif till October 26 in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills and Avenfield property references.

The court also sought comments from the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) about the petitions seeking revival of Nawaz Sharif’s appeals against his conviction in the two references.

The two-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb heard the case wherein the former prime minister appeared along with his legal team.

At the outset of hearing, Nawaz Sharif’s counsel Azam Nazir Tarar said that the petitioner had not skipped his appearances deliberately. He had travelled abroad for medical treatment with the consent of the court and his medical reports had been submitted regularly.

Addressing the lawyer, the chief justice observed that they would have to issue a notice to NAB to hear its point of view. The revival of appeals was not a routine matter and he had to satisfy the court as why the petitioner did not appear before the court, he added.

Azam Nazir Tarar requested for extension of protective bail for few days, saying it was a case of first impression. The accountability court had changed the petitioner’s status of absconder. Nawaz Sharif had faced a lot of hardships during the time as his wife and mother also died, he added.

The chief justice questioned whether NAB wanted to arrest Nawaz Sharif and whether it had any objection on the extension of his protective bail. The NAB prosecutor replied that his department had no objection in that regard.

The chief justice said that NAB could withdraw its references against the petitioner if it considered the same were filed wrongly.

Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb asked the NAB prosecutor general to inform the court after taking instructions from the NAB chairman.

The bench served notices to NAB and adjourned further hearing of the case.