ISLAMABAD: Petitions challenging Sharif family’s conviction in the Avenfield properties case were heard by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday.
The petitions were heard by a bench comprised of Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Mian Gull.
On July 6 this year, an accountability court had sentenced Nawaz to a total of 11 years in prison and slapped a £8 million fine (Rs1.3 billion) in the corruption reference while his daughter Maryam was sentenced to eight years with a £2 million fine (Rs335 million). Additionally, Nawaz’s son-in-law Capt (retd) Safdar was given a one-year sentence without any fine.
On July 16, the legal counsels of the Sharifs had filed three separate appeals on behalf of their clients.
Nawaz’s counsel Khawaja Haris 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 Safdar. The Sharif family’s legal counsels had argued that the convicts should be released on bail till the IHC adjudicates on the matter.
As part of the appeal, Khawaja Haris had argued that in order to shift the onus of proof of the accused, the prosecution needs to ensure its case is beyond a shadow of a doubt. The prosecution, he argued, had not done so.
Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif was present at the hearing on Monday as well.
National Accountability Bureau (NAB) prosecutor Akram Qureshi argued that hearing the petition to suspend the sentence would be biased and requested the court to allow him to submit a written response to the petition.
The hearing is currently underway.