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 terms climate change, demographic pressures as ‘pressing existential risks’
- Pakistan has suffered frequent climate change-induced disasters, including floods this year that killed over 1,000
- Pakistan finmin highlights stabilization measures at Doha Forum, discusses economic cooperation with Qatar
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Saturday described climate change and demographic pressures as “pressing existential risks” facing the country, calling for urgent climate financing.
The finance minister was speaking as a member of a high-level panel at the 23rd edition of the Doha Forum, which is being held from Dec. 6–7 in the Qatari capital. Aurangzeb was invited as a speaker on the discussion titled: ‘Global Trade Tensions: Economic Impact and Policy Responses in MENA.’
“He reaffirmed that while Pakistan remained vigilant in the face of geopolitical uncertainty, the more pressing existential risks were climate change and demographic pressures,” the Finance Division said.
Pakistan has suffered repeated climate disasters in recent years, most notably the 2022 super-floods that submerged one-third of the country, displaced millions and caused an estimated $30 billion in losses.
This year’s floods killed over 1,000 people and caused at least $2.9 billion in damages to agriculture and infrastructure. Scientists say Pakistan remains among the world’s most climate-vulnerable nations despite contributing less than 1 percent of global greenhouse-gas emissions.
Aurangzeb has previously said climate change and Pakistan’s fast-rising population are the only two factors that can hinder the South Asian country’s efforts to become a $3 trillion economy in the future.
The finance minister noted that this year’s floods in Pakistan had shaved at least 0.5 percent off GDP growth, calling for urgent climate financing and investment in resilient infrastructure.
When asked about Pakistan’s fiscal resilience and capability to absorb external shocks, Aurangzeb said Islamabad had rebuilt fiscal buffers. He pointed out that both the primary fiscal balance and current account had returned to surplus, supported significantly by strong remittance inflows of $18–20 billion annually from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) regions.
Separately, Aurangzeb met his Qatari counterpart Ali Bin Ahmed Al Kuwari to discuss bilateral cooperation.
“Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening economic ties, particularly by maximizing opportunities created through the newly concluded GCC–Pakistan Free Trade Agreement, expanding trade flows, and deepening energy cooperation, including long-term LNG collaboration,” the finance ministry said.
The two also discussed collaboration on digital infrastructure, skills development and regulatory reform. They agreed to establish structured mechanisms to continue joint work in trade diversification, technology, climate resilience, and investment facilitation, the finance ministry said.
