The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday suspended the jail sentence awarded to former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in the Al Azizia case for 56 days.
A two-member bench of the high court comprising Justice Aamir Farooq and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kyani heard a bail plea filed by former prime minister’s brother and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif.
The court room number 2 was packed with crowd as almost all senior leadership of PML-N besides a large number of lawyers and journalists was present there.
After hearing initial arguments by Nawaz Sharif’s legal team led by advocate Khawaja Haris and accompanied by his medical team led by Nawaz Sharif’s personal physician Dr Adnan for almost four hours, the court reserved the verdict for a short period.
After a short interval, the court announced the verdict in which it said that two surety bonds of Rs 2 million each will have to be submitted to the court to secure Nawaz’s release. The court further directed that for an extension in bail, the Punjab government should be approached.
During the course of hearing, Justice Farooq asked Nawaz’s counsel Khawaja Haris whether the head of the state (President Dr Arif Alvi) can grant amnesty to Nawaz before the bail plea is decided. In response, the counsel replied he (president) can invoke his presidential powers at any time. However, customarily, all forums are first approached.
Justice Farooq asked Nawaz’s counsel for informing court on which point the court should grant his client the bail. “On whichever condition it can give Nawaz Sharif a chance to recover,” he responded.
The court discussed points like forwarding the matter to the executive, suspending the sentence in accordance with the timeframe recommended by NAB, approving the petitioner’s application or rejecting it. Haris said it will not be prudent to refer the matter to the government as they are ‘severally against the PML-N and the Sharif family’.
Justice Kiyani, however, noted that prime minster and chief minster don’t belong to a single party but, as per constitution, they belong to the whole country and province and are custodians of entire country instead of a single party or group. Haris pointed out that the attorney general of Pakistan had even objected to the interim bail granted to Nawaz Sharif. “We have come to the court. Kindly decide the matter in accordance with the law,” the counsel requested. Justice Kiyani said if the government decides on the matter, “it won’t be termed a deal”. The counsel reiterated the request for the court to decide the matter. “We will respect the decision,” he affirmed.
Earlier, the court asked doctors, who are part of the medical board overseeing Nawaz’s treatment, if it is possible for Nawaz to recover without staying at the hospital. The doctors responded in the negative and said that the PML-N founder requires medical supervision all the time. The board informed the court that Nawaz has been given 80 injections so far in order to boost his platelet count. When asked if Nawaz has suffered a heart attack during his medical treatment, the doctors responded in the affirmative.
Nawaz’s personal physician Dr Adnan, who arrived at the court before the hearing started, said that so far the board has not able to figure out the reason behind the destruction of the platelets in the former prime minister’s body. He told the court that Dr Raza Shamsi has been summoned from Karachi for Nawaz’s treatment. “He (Nawaz) is still unstable,” Dr Khan said. “I have never seen him in such an alarming condition,” he added.
Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, who appeared before the court, assured the bench that the provincial government is providing the best medical care to the former prime minister.
Nawaz’s lawyer Khawaja Haris expressed dissatisfaction with the medical care of his client so far. “So far we are not satisfied with the medical board’s treatment.
The board itself is saying in its report that it is unable to manage. Services Hospital does not have machinery to conduct [medical] tests. Nawaz Sharif has to be taken to different places for his tests to be conducted,” he claimed.
National Accountability Bureau (NAB) prosecutor, during his arguments, said that the anti-corruption watchdog will not oppose bail on humanitarian grounds. “I will not talk about merit … Nawaz Sharif’s condition is serious,” he said.
“If we do grant a bail, how long should it be for?” Justice Farooq asked NAB prosecutor, to which the latter responded that the court can decide in accordance with a Supreme Court verdict that had earlier granted a six-week bail to seek medical treatment within the country.
