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ISLAMABAD: Ahead of his return to Pakistan on October 21, separate petitions were filed by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s legal team in Islamabad courts on Wednesday seeking protective bail for him in graft cases.
Two protective bail petitions were filed by Nawaz’s legal team in the Islamabad high court. Sharif was convicted in two graft cases — the Avenfield and Al-Azizia references — and was declared a proclaimed offender in the Toshakhana vehicle case, pending before an accountability court in Islamabad. A separate petition seeking bail was also filed in an accountability court in the Toshakhana case related to his purchase of an expensive vehicle from the state treasury for a meagre price.
He was released on bail for four weeks in 2019 and allowed to go to the UK for medical treatment. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz chief, however, stayed there for nearly four years and the courts here declared him an absconder in the meantime.
In the 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 earlier dismissed by the Islamabad HC for non-compliance.
Sharif’s lawyers requested the court to grant protective bail to the former three-time PM as he wanted to surrender, submit to due process of the law and avail remedies permissible under the law.
In the petitions filed in the Islamabad HC, Sharif said his absence from appearance in court was “neither intentional nor deliberate nor mala fide”, and that he had been unable to do so due to “medical advice” and circumstances beyond his control.
The pleas stated that the PML-N chief’s health did not improve and medical procedures were delayed due the Covid-19 pandemic. The petitions added that the relevant health reports were submitted to the Lahore high court, in accordance with its directives. It also noted that the previous federal and provincial governments, “despite being headed by an arch-rival political party”, never approached the HC to challenge the veracity of the reports.
The pleas read that Nawaz was “constrained to limited public exposure and mobility” and could not address any public meeting, adding that he was “bound down to wear a mask throughout this time as of today on account of the complicated nature of ailments and compromised position of immunity”.
The appeals said that although Nawaz had not fully recovered and was not in an “ideal state of health”, he had decided to come back to Pakistan at a time when the country was faced with its “worst-ever crises of economy and on other fronts”. Sharif’s pleas urged the court to grant him protective bail in the interest of justice.
Two protective bail petitions were filed by Nawaz’s legal team in the Islamabad high court. Sharif was convicted in two graft cases — the Avenfield and Al-Azizia references — and was declared a proclaimed offender in the Toshakhana vehicle case, pending before an accountability court in Islamabad. A separate petition seeking bail was also filed in an accountability court in the Toshakhana case related to his purchase of an expensive vehicle from the state treasury for a meagre price.
He was released on bail for four weeks in 2019 and allowed to go to the UK for medical treatment. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz chief, however, stayed there for nearly four years and the courts here declared him an absconder in the meantime.
In the 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 earlier dismissed by the Islamabad HC for non-compliance.
Sharif’s lawyers requested the court to grant protective bail to the former three-time PM as he wanted to surrender, submit to due process of the law and avail remedies permissible under the law.
In the petitions filed in the Islamabad HC, Sharif said his absence from appearance in court was “neither intentional nor deliberate nor mala fide”, and that he had been unable to do so due to “medical advice” and circumstances beyond his control.
The pleas stated that the PML-N chief’s health did not improve and medical procedures were delayed due the Covid-19 pandemic. The petitions added that the relevant health reports were submitted to the Lahore high court, in accordance with its directives. It also noted that the previous federal and provincial governments, “despite being headed by an arch-rival political party”, never approached the HC to challenge the veracity of the reports.
The pleas read that Nawaz was “constrained to limited public exposure and mobility” and could not address any public meeting, adding that he was “bound down to wear a mask throughout this time as of today on account of the complicated nature of ailments and compromised position of immunity”.
The appeals said that although Nawaz had not fully recovered and was not in an “ideal state of health”, he had decided to come back to Pakistan at a time when the country was faced with its “worst-ever crises of economy and on other fronts”. Sharif’s pleas urged the court to grant him protective bail in the interest of justice.
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