Nawaz seeks exemption from appearance in Avenfield, Al-Azizia pleas

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif filed a petition in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday seeking exemption from appearance in Avenfield and Al Azizia reference appeals, as he stated his treatment in the UK could not be completed due to Covid-19 lockdown.

A division bench of the IHC comprising Justice Amir Farooq and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani will hear the appeals on Tuesday (today). The former prime minister took the plea that he was unable to appear in the court for being sick, saying London doctors had also advised him not to travel. “It is therefore requested that the plea for exemption from attendance in the court be accepted.”

He further stated that his counsel advised him not to challenge the Punjab government’s decision from other country. According to the counsel, the decision could not be challenged without personal appearance in the court, he said, adding: “All the documents were provided to the Punjab government for extension in the bail but the Punjab government rejected the plea for extension in the bail under a pre-conceived plan”. It is pertinent to mention here that the appeal against Sharif’s conviction in Al Azizia Steel Mills reference and plea from the National Accountability Bureau(NAB) seeking enhancement in sentence in the same case and appeal against the acquittal of former prime minister by accountability court in flagship reference have also been fixed for hearing.