The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday issued a two-page long interim order on the appeals filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and incarcerated former premier Nawaz Sharif.
According to order, Nawaz was tried in Reference no 19 and wishes the suspension of his sentence by the court.
The order read, the legal counsel of Nawaz contended that the judgement given by the accountability court was not appropriate, moreover, the evidence provided by the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) were not made a part of the record.
It further said, “the sheer receipt of the remittances does not make the present petitioner [Nawaz] an accused person.”
The appeal of Nawaz for sentence suspension will be heard along with Criminal Appeal, the interim order added, which was signed by Justice Amir Farooq and Justice Mohsin Akhtar.
On Jan 21, the IHC deferred hearing the appeals of NAB against the deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif.
The anti-graft watchdog requested the court to extend the jail term of Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) supremo in Al-Azizia case and it also challenged acquittal of the ousted premier in the Flagship Investment Reference.
An accountability court on Dec 24 sentenced Sharif to seven years jail term in the Al-Azizia reference.
Published in Daily Times, January 26th 2019.
