ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday reserved its verdict on former prime minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif’s plea seeking suspension of his jail sentence on medical grounds in the Al-Azizia reference.
An accountability court had awarded him seven-year jail and Rs1.5 billion fine in the case last year. A two-member bench of IHC, comprising Justice Aamir Farooq and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani, resumed hearing of the petition. The AIG Legal Punjab Dr Qadir submitted to the court a new medical report of Nawaz Sharif issued by the Jinnah Hospital.
Khawaja Haris Advocate told the court that his client is unwell and all the reports have suggested conducting his angiography, saying the matter has become very sensitive. Haris argued that Nawaz is suffering from different diseases and it’s happening because of the tense atmosphere in the jail. He told the court that after 2003, Nawaz was admitted to a hospital four times because of heart ailments. In 2018 Nawaz was admitted to hospital from Adiala Jail because of a kind of heart attack. Haris told the court that doctors had suggested Nawaz’s angiography but the doctor treating his kidneys is not giving clearance for angiography. He said Nawaz’s diseases will be diagnosed after angiography adding that the medical board has also suggested sharing the angiography report with the cardiologists. Haris said Nawaz Sharif’s treatment in jail is not possible, as he needed continuous checkups and changes in medicine. He said the report of Punjab Institute of Cardiology stating that the atmosphere of sub-jail is also causing stress was not presented before the court on January 23. Haris argued that it was important for Nawaz to come out of this tense atmosphere so that he could get medical treatment at his own will.
To this, the NAB prosecutor said Nawaz’s appeal for bail on medical grounds is not maintainable, as this is not the case of hardship and sensitivity. “The court has to see whether Nawaz Sharif is getting his basic rights or not,” he added. He said suspension of sentence and giving bail both have equal standards. The application is based on Article 199 and filed under Article 199-C. To this justice, Aamir Farooq asked him to read Article 199 and said if the application is accepted this means the court has to give bail on this ground. The prosecutor said the medical report which they are saying was not presented is now part of the court record.
To this, Khawaja Haris said the person who hid the report earlier should be punished. The prosecutor said after going through all the medical reports of Nawaz Sharif one could know the scale of Nawaz diseases. “We have no objection to the medical treatment of Nawaz Sharif,” he added.
Justice Aamir Farooq asked if there is any hospital in Lahore, Rawalpindi or Islamabad where Nawaz could be treated. The NAB prosecutor replied that a hospital in Lahore has all the medical facilities. Justice Aamir Farooq said since Nawaz Sharif’s name is on the ECL, the federal government will have to look into this matter. After hearing the arguments, the court reserved the verdict which is likely to be announced in the next week.