ISLAMABAD - The Islamabad High Court (IHC) Tuesday deferred its decision to declare former prime minister Nawaz Sharif a proclaimed offender till December 2.

A two-member bench of the IHC comprising Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani conducted hearing of the appeals filed by the former prime minister against his conviction in Al-Azizia and Avenfield references.

In October, the bench had issued proclamation against Nawaz Sharif in leading newspapers asking him to surrender himself in 30 days to avoid the further adverse process. During the hearing, director Europe at the Foreign Office Mohammad Mubashir Khan submitted a report before the bench, stating that Nawaz was aware of the court proceedings. He told the court that the former prime minister was not appearing before the court deliberately.

It was informed that the warrants posted through Royal Mail were received at Sharif’s London residence. Furthermore, proclamation notices summoning the PML-N leader were also put up outside his Lahore residence.

The foreign office report stated that Nawaz Sharif was deliberately “concealing himself” in a bid to stall the execution of the court orders. It added that it was established that convict Nawaz Sharif was fully aware of the proceedings of this case and deliberately concealing himself from the execution of processes of this court and absconding.  It was September 15 when an IHC bench had issued the former premier’s non-bailable arrest warrants after he failed to appear before the bench during the hearing of his appeals against his conviction in Al-Azizia and Avenfield cases.

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In compliance with the IHC’s order dated October 7, the office of the Additional Attorney General for Pakistan submitted another report to the IHC through Assistant Attorney General Saqlain Haider. The report said that the proclamation was received on October 12 from the IHC Additional Registrar Judicial with a request to publish it in the Daily Jang Lahore and London and the Daily Dawn Lahore on Oct 19.

The Additional Attorney General’s office also wrote to the Press Information Department (PID) requesting it to publish the proclamation and the same was published on October 19.

The AAG office also sent the proclamation to the foreign office and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) director general on October 22 to put up the proclamation at the residences of Sharif at Lahore’s Model Town, Shamim Farms and Jati Umrah. The FIA later constituted a team for personally putting up the proclamation at the residence. Then the bench decided to record statements of Federal Investigation Agency officers - Ejaz Ahmed and Tariq Masood who were tasked to comply with its decision to issue proclamation in newspapers and Mubashir Khan on the next hearing fixed for December 2. 

It was the 1st September when the IHC bench had directed Sharif to appear before it on September 10 warning that otherwise, it would declare him an absconder and also initiate action against those who acted as guarantors when the PML-N leader was granted bail by the court.

“We deem [it] appropriate that an opportunity be granted to the appellant [Nawaz] to appear before the court and surrender to the authorities before the next date of hearing,” said the court order. It added, “Failing this, proceedings would be initiated against him in accordance with law including but not limited to the provisions of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Ordinance, 1999.”