IHC postpones hearing of Nawaz's petition against Al-Azizia conviction

The Islamabad High Court (IHC), which was supposed to hear the petition of ex-premier Nawaz Sharif's conviction in the Al-Azizia case, postponed the hearing on Monday for an indefinite time.

A two-member bench headed by the Chief Justice of IHC Ather Minallah and comprising Justice Aamer Farooq heard the case today. Sharif was represented by his counsel Khawaja Haris. The bench postponed the hearing saying that since the date for the hearing of the appeal was not set, the petition could not be heard, local media reported.

Sharif had thrice submitted a petition against his conviction in the high court. However, the high court had rejected the appeal twice as it raised objections in the appeal. On January 5, a third petition was filed and accepted by the IHC's registrar.

In the petition, Sharif argued that the verdict by Judge Arshad Malik was based on incorrect interpretation of the law and also based on assumptions. Sharif also appealed to the bench to release him on bail.

Similarly, the National Accountability Bureau has also challenged the accountability court's verdict, arguing that the jail term given to Sharif is short and should be extended. The bureau had also challenged Sharif's acquittal in the Flagship reference case saying that acquitting the ex-premier on the basis of benefit of the doubt was against the law.

The court has awarded seven years jail term to Sharif who is currently serving his sentence at Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat Jail.