ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) is scheduled to hear former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s appeal today, Thursday, challenging his seven-year sentence in the Al-Azizia corruption reference, as the country’s accountability watchdog has urged the judiciary to increase his sentence in the case.
The Al-Azizia Steel Mills case became a high-profile corruption case that centered on allegations of financial irregularities and money laundering linked to the establishment of the facility in Saudi Arabia by Sharif and his family.
A local accountability court in the federal capital sentenced him to seven years in December 2018 and imposed a fine of £2.5 million in the case. The verdict also disqualified the ex-premier from holding any public office for 10 years and ordered him to forfeit all his properties.
Sharif was arrested from the court premises and remained in prison for about seven months before leaving for London in November 2019 for medical treatment after securing a bail from the court.
Sharif returned to Pakistan from the self-imposed exile nearly after four years in October and filed appeals against his convictions in two separate corruption references, Al-Azizia and Avenfield. The IHC acquitted the former prime minister in the Avenfield reference last month.
A divisional bench of IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq is scheduled to take up Sharif’s appeal in Al-Azizia reference today seeking to overturn his conviction in the case.
During the ex-premier’s last court appearance in November, one of his party leaders and former law minister, Azam Nazir Tarar, sought exemption for him from personal appearance.
“There are security issues at every hearing,” he said.
The court asked Sharif’s legal team to file an application for exemption while promising to look into the issue.
Meanwhile, the National Accountability Bureau that had filed corruption references against the ex-premier was requesting the court through an appeal to enhance Sharif’s sentence in Al-Azizia reference as awarded by the accountability court in December 2018.
Counsels from both the sides will present their arguments before the court today to plead their case.
Pakistani court to take up ex-PM Sharif’s appeal against conviction in case today
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Pakistani court to take up ex-PM Sharif’s appeal against conviction in case today
- Sharif was given seven-year imprisonment in the Al-Azizia corruption case in December 2018
- Pakistan’s accountability watchdog has urged the court to enhance Sharif’s sentence in the case
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia explore joint investment push in high-growth regions
- Both sides discuss combining Pakistan’s production capacity with Saudi capital and regional market access
- Government says Saudi side expressed interest in corporate farming in Pakistan, particularly in rice sector
KARACHI: Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are looking to jointly tap high-growth regional markets and align production and capital strengths, according to an official statement on Wednesday, following talks between Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan and Saudi Investment Assistant Minister Ibrahim Al-Mubarak in the Kingdom.
The two countries have long maintained close bilateral ties that have evolved into a multidimensional strategic partnership.
In October last year, the two countries launched an Economic Cooperation Framework aimed at shifting relations beyond aid toward sustainable trade, investment and development links. The framework followed the signing of a joint security agreement a month earlier, under which aggression against one would be treated as an attack on both.
“A key focus of the discussion was the joint exploration of regional markets, particularly Central Asia, Africa, and ASEAN, identified as high-growth regions offering significant opportunities for collaboration,” according to a statement circulated by Pakistan’s commerce ministry after the meeting.
“The two sides agreed that Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, by leveraging their respective strengths, can position themselves as complementary partners — combining Pakistan’s production capabilities with Saudi Arabia’s capital strength, market access, and regional connectivity,” it added.
The Saudi side expressed interest in corporate farming in Pakistan, particularly in the rice sector, with discussions covering mechanization, storage and logistics to enable consistent, long-term exports under structured arrangements.
Talks also covered broader cooperation in agriculture and food security, including rice, fodder, meat and other agri-products, with the potential involvement of Saudi financing institutions in supporting export-linked agricultural and infrastructure projects.
Corporate farming and mechanization were discussed as long-term solutions to productivity challenges in crops such as cotton, where declining yields and high manual input costs have hurt competitiveness, the statement said.
Human resource development emerged as another area of focus, with both sides noting shortages in mid-tier skills such as nurses, caregivers, technicians and hospitality staff.
The Saudi side expressed openness to replicating vocational “train-to-deploy” models in Pakistan that link training programs directly with overseas employment opportunities.
The meeting also examined opportunities in building materials, pharmaceuticals, sports goods, footwear and light manufacturing, with both sides agreeing to pursue sector-specific workshops and business-to-business engagements to translate policy alignment into tangible trade and investment flows.
