Islamabad (Staff Report): The Islamabad High Court will hear the appeals of Sharif family filed against the Avenfied verdict.
A two-member bench of Islamabad High Court(IHC), comprising Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani and Justice Gul Hassan Aurangzaib, will hear the petitions filed by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law Capt (retd) Safdar, who are serving their terms in Adiala Jail.
Former PM Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law Captain (retd) Safdar filed their petitions against the verdict in Avenfied case on Monday.
The appeals were filed by Nawaz Sharif’s counsel Khawaja Harris and Maryam and Safdar’s lawyer Amjad Pervaiz.
In the appeals, the convicts have pleaded the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to release the former PM, his daughter until a decision is announced on the verdict announced by the accountability court.
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and the trial court have been made respondent in the appeals.
According to the lawyers, the flaws in the judgment passed by accountability judge Mohammad Bashir have been highlighted in the appeals.
The former PM and other convicts have also requested the IHC to declare the Avenfield verdict null and void as it did not fulfill the legal requirements.
The appeal states that Panamagate Joint Investigation Team (JIT) head and prosecution’s star witness Wajid Zia himself accepted that a response to the mutual legal assistance (MLA) request was not received. It further said that levelling allegations without receiving a response to the MLA was mala fide.
On July 6, the court awarded ousted premier to 10 years and Maryam Nawaz to 7 years imprisonment in the Avenfield corruption reference, while Capt (retd) Safdar will also face one year jail term in the case.
Accountability Court-I Judge Mohammad Bashir announced the verdict.
Moreover, Nawaz and Maryam were also fined 8 and 2 million pounds respectively.
The court ordered to confiscate the property in question, suggesting the government to do legislation to bring plundered money back to the country.
In the 100-page decision, Accountability Judge Mohammad Bashir also sentenced Sharif’s daughter, Maryam Nawaz, to seven years in jail for forgery and making assets through illegal sources in the landmark decision. She has been ordered to pay a fine of £2 million (Rs320 million). Capt (r) Safdar Awan, who is the son-in-law of Nawaz Sharif, was jailed for one year for cheating.
Last week, a notification issued by the Ministry of Law and Justice stated the trial of Sharif family in two remaining corruption references filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) will be held in Adiala jail .
“In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (b) of section 16 of the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999 (XVIII of 1999), the federal government is please to specify the Central Jail Adiala, Rawalpindi, to be the place where the Accountability Court-I, Islamabad shall sit for trial of References No. 18/2017 and 19/2017 against Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and others.
