Islamabad High Court (IHC) issued notice to National Accountability Bureau (NAB) regarding former prime minister Nawaz Sharif to transfer remaining corruption cases to another judge of Accountability Court.
Nawaz's lawyer Khawaja Harris, starting his arguments, stated that the accountability judge has already given his verdict in one reference and cannot hear the remaining two references.
Justice Aurangzeb asked Haris if the judge has given an opinion on the other two references in the Avenfield judgment.
Khawaja said that it is not about the judge's bias or personal grudge but about fairness of the trial.
The bench then issued notice to the NAB prosecutor with regard to Nawaz's plea to transfer the remaining cases to another judge, directing him to submit a response at the next hearing, scheduled for the last week of July.
Moreover, the court dismissed Nawaz's plea seeking a stay on the corruption proceedings until the court decides on his petition to transfer the cases.
Earlier, today, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) heard appeals filed by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law Captain (retired) Safdar Awan against the Avenfield reference verdict against them.
A two member bench of the high court comprising Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb heard the appeals.
Earlier, on July 16, the lawyers of the Sharif family had filed three different appeals on behalf of their clients.
Nawaz’s counsel Khawaja Harris filed an appeal challenging the verdict against his client and requesting its suspension till IHC’s adjudication in the case. Similarly, Amjad Pervaiz filed the appeals on behalf of Maryam and Captain (retired) Safdar Awan.
Moreover, an additional appeal was also filed requesting the court to transfer the Al-Azizia and Flagship Investment references against Nawaz from the court of Accountability Judge Mohammad Bashir to another Accountability Court.
The appeal highlighted the legal flaws in the Avenfield verdict and pleaded to nullify the Accountability Court's verdict. Moreover, it [the appeal] further demands the release of three convicts on bail.
Prior to this, the Accountability Court had sentenced Nawaz to a total of 11 years in prison and imposed a fine of £8 million (Rs1.3 billion) in the corruption reference meanwhile his daughter Maryam was sentenced to eight years in prison along with a £2 million fine (Rs335 million).
In addition, Nawaz's son-in-law Captain (retired) Safdar was given a one-year sentence without any fine.
Earlier, on July 13, Nawaz and Maryam reached Pakistan. Upon their arrival, they were arrested in Lahore and shifted to Adiala Jail in separate convoys. Before that, Safdar was arrested on July 9 and shifted to Adiala jail.
