The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday issued a notice to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif’s petitions seeking protective bail in Al-Azizia and Avenfiled references.
The protective bail petitions were filed in the IHC by Nawaz ‘s legal team to restrain the authorities from arresting him when he returns back to country on October 21.
IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb conducted the hearing on the bail plea and issued notice to the anti-corruption watchdog which had filed references against the former PM.
PML-N chief’s lawyer Amjad Pervez requested the IHC bench to grant protective bail to his client as he wanted to surrender before the court.
The three-time former prime minister was declared a proclaimed offender by 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.
In Avenfield and Al-Azizia references, Nawaz was sentenced to 10 and seven years in prison, respectively, by an accountability court in 2018.
His appeals against the convictions were dismissed by the IHC bench comprising IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Mohsin Akhtar Kayani for non-compliance.
Nawaz’s sentence in Al-Azizia reference was suspended in 2019 by the Lahore High Court (LHC) on medical grounds and he was permitted to fly to London to seek treatment, after which he did not return.
The PML-N supremo was also declared a proclaimed offender in the Toshakhana case and a separate bail petition has also been filed in an accountability court.
The former PM’s three protective bail applications sought the IHC’s direction to stop authorities from arresting Nawaz from the airport on his return to the country on October 21 to allow him to surrender before the court.
