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
Saudi Arabia condemns deadly mosque bombing in Pakistan’s capital
- The Kingdom rejects targeting of places of worship, expresses solidarity with Pakistan
- Saudi foreign ministry offers condolences to victims’ families, wishes injured recovery
ISLAMABAD: Saudi Arabia on Friday condemned the suicide bombing that targeted a mosque in Islamabad, expressing solidarity with Pakistan after the attack killed and injured dozens on the outskirts of the capital.
The blast, which struck during Friday prayers, killed at least 31 people and wounded more than 160 others, according to Pakistani authorities.
In a statement issued by its foreign ministry, Saudi Arabia denounced the targeting of a place of worship and rejected all forms of violence and extremism.
“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia expresses its strong condemnation and denunciation of the terrorist bombing that targeted a mosque in the capital of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Islamabad,” the statement said.
It added that the Kingdom stood firmly against attacks on civilians and places of worship and reaffirmed its support for Pakistan in confronting militant violence.
The ministry also extended condolences to the families of those killed and expressed sympathy with the Pakistani government and people, wishing the wounded a speedy recovery.
No militant group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack, which Pakistani officials say is being investigated.
