Al-Azizia verdict: Nawaz files plea with IHC for early hearing

ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif Tuesday filed a supplementary plea with the Islamabad High Court (IHC) against the seven-year jail awarded to him in Al-Azizia reference.

Accountability Court-II Judge Arshad Malik had sentenced Nawaz to seven years in jail along with a fine of $25 million in Al-Azizia reference on Dec 24, 2018. However, he acquitted him in the Flagship Investment reference.

In his supplementary appeal, Nawaz requested the IHC to schedule a hearing of his appeal at the earliest possible date. The petition, submitted by his counsel Khawaja Haris, stated that a two-member IHC bench had heard the plea, and clubbed petitions seeking suspension of Nawaz’s sentence with the appeal against his conviction in the reference.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) announced the reserved judgment on maintainability of Nawaz Sharif’s plea. The court remarked that unless the appeal was heard, the petitioner’s sentence could not be suspended. The court further stated that the appeal could not be heard immediately due to winter vacation.