The Islamabad High Court (IHC) extended on Tuesday the protected bail of former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif in the Avenfield and Al-Azizia cases till October 26.
Ahead of his return to the country, the former PM had secured bail by the IHC in the two cases he had been convicted until October 24.
Nawaz arrived in Islamabad from Dubai on a charter plane on Saturday, ending his four-year self imposed exile.
In 2018, Nawaz was sentenced to 10 and seven years in prison in the Avenfield and Al-Azizia references, respectively.
The three-time former prime minister was declared a proclaimed offender by the IHC in the Avenfield and Al-Azizia cases over non-compliance after he went to London for medical treatment with the court’s permission in November 2019.
On Monday, the PML-N leader approached the IHC, seeking restoration of his appeals against the accountability court’s verdicts in the Avenfield and Al-Azizia cases.
The petitions filed through advocate Amjad Pervez prayed the court to hear the appeals on merit as earlier they were discarded for non-compliance when the former prime minister did not return from London after he was granted permission by the court in November 2019 to go abroad for medical treatment.
In the Avenfield petition, the PML-N chief maintained that he was sentenced in absentia on July 6, 2018, in Avenfield reference as he could not attend a court hearing in view of his wife’s ailment who was undergoing treatment and on the ventilator at a hospital in London.
Nawaz appears before accountability court
Earlier, the PML-N supremo arrived before an accountability court in Islamabad for a hearing of the Toshakhana case.
PML-N leaders Shehbaz Sharif, Ahsan Iqbal, Khawaja Asif, Ayaz Sadiq and Saad Rafique were also present for the hearing, which was presided over by Judge Muhammad Bashir.
The court directed to mark Nawaz’s attendance. During the hearing, the court granted the PML-N supremo bail in the case against surety bonds of Rs1 million.
The hearing of the case was adjourned till November 20.
Last week, the accountability court suspended Nawaz’s arrest warrant in the Toshakhana case.
Judge Bashir said that the arrest warrant would be restored if the accused did not appear before the court on October 24.
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had filed the Toshakhana reference against former president Asif Ali Zardari, Nawaz and Yousuf Raza Gillani, and others for allegedly acquiring three vehicles including a BMW 750 Li model 2004, Toyota Lexus Jeep 472 model 2007 gifted by the embassy of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and BMW 760 LI model 2008 gifted by embassy Libya and gifts from Toshakhana-an official treasury where gifts from foreign dignitaries or heads of state are deposited- in violation of rules and regulations.