Nawaz Sharif files applications for restoration of appeals in two references

ISLAMABAD: The legal team of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif on Monday filed applications before the Islamabad High Court (IHC), seeking the restoration of appeals in the Avenfield property and Al-Azizia Steel Mills references.

Amjad Pervaiz Advocate filed the applications on behalf of the former prime minister. It prayed the court to decide the appeals after hearing arguments on merit in the cases.

In the petitions, Nawaz Sharif stated that he had not completely recovered from the ailment, adding that he decided to return to Pakistan due to the miserable economic condition of the country. He said that he was awarded the imprisonment sentence by the accountability court in his absence on July 6, 2018, the official news agency reported.

He said that his wife was under medical treatment and on a ventilator in a London hospital. He had requested the trial court to delay the judgment but the request was rejected at that time. Despite the fact, he came back to Pakistan, faced jail and filed appeals against his convictions, he added.

He said that the co-accused — including Maryam Nawaz and her husband — had already been acquitted in the Avenfield property case.

The application said that the appeals were terminated in the absence of the petitioner. It said that the former prime minister could not appear before the court due to his health issues, adding that he had not misused his bail.

It also said that the petitioner had been submitting his medical reports to the Lahore High Court (LHC).