Nawaz Sharif acquitted in Avenfield reference case

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday acquitted Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Quaid Mian Nawaz Sharif in the Avenfield Apartments reference case.

An IHC division bench comprising Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb announced the verdict on Nawaz’ plea to overturn his conviction in the graft case.

Talking to journalists outside the court after the IHC verdict, Nawaz Sharif said that he had left it up to Allah. “In Al-Azizia [Steel Mills corruption reference] also, I’ve also left my matters up to Allah,” he said.

Wednesday’s victory is seen by many political analysts as a major relief for the former three-time prime minister.

In July 2018, an accountability court had handed Nawaz Sharif 10 years in jail in the Avenfield properties corruption reference for owning assets beyond known income and one year for not cooperating with the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), both of which were to be served concurrently.

The IHC had declared him a proclaimed offender in the case in December 2020. After leaving for London on medical grounds, Nawaz Sharif remained there for nearly four years and only returned to the country last month.

Following his return from the UK last month, the PML-N leader had filed an application seeking the restoration of his appeal against his conviction.

He had contended that while he was abroad for medical treatment, the pending appeals were dismissed for non-prosecution. The plea requested the court to revive the pending appeal for a decision on them on merit. Last month, the IHC had restored the appeal in question.

Today, the court set aside the accountability court’s verdict and accepted Nawaz Sharif’s appeal.