Govt seeks time to submit report on arrest warrants for Nawaz

ISLAMABAD: Federal government on Wednesday requested Islamabad High Court (IHC) to give more time to submit a compliance report about the execution of arrest warrants for former prime minister Nawaz Sharif through London’s county court. The IHC bench on Wednesday adjourned the hearing of appeals of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz, and son-in-law Capt (R) Muhammad Safdar until December 9. Maryam Nawaz appeared before the court under tight security. During hearing the Additional Attorney General Tariq Khokhar requested the bench to grant some time to submit a compliance report about the execution of arrest warrants for Nawaz through London’s county court. To a question, he replied that this process can take at least 15 days. The counsel suggested adjourning the hearing for an indefinite period, saying as soon as the government receives any response; it will inform the court about it. He said the Pakistan High Commission in London dispatched the warrants to the Avenfield residence of the former premier by courier, where a person received the warrants and signed the receipt. To this bench remarked that if the court was told for sure as to how many days this process can take, it would have fixed the date for the next hearing accordingly. Observing that the bench can’t adjourn the case for a longer period, the court put off the hearing until September 30 when it will take up the matter related to the arrest warrants. However, the appeals would be heard on December 9.