ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday dismissed a petition filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) challenging the Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) order of transferring two corruption references against former premier Nawaz Sharif and members of his family to Accountability Judge Arshad Malik.
A bench of the apex court dismissed the petition when a NAB lawyer informed it that the bureau wanted to withdraw it.
In the petition, the anti-graft watchdog has pleaded the apex court to set aside the IHC decision of transferring the pending corruption cases against the Sharif family from Accountability Judge Muhammad Bashir to another court.
Judge Bashir had awarded 10-year imprisonment to Nawaz Sharif, seven years to his daughter Maryam Nawaz and one year to her spouse Safdar Awan in the Avenfield case, one of the three references filed against the Sharif family by the bureau.
Judge Arshad Malik is hearing the two pending references, the Al-Azizia/Hill Metal Establishment and Flagship Investment, against the Sharifs.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supreme leader Nawaz Sharif, Maryam and Captain (r) Safdar were released from Adiala prison after an IHC bench suspended their sentence and ordered their release on bail.
On Sept 19, a division bench comprising Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb granted a petition filed by the Sharif family seeking suspension of the Avenfield verdict until a final decision on their appeals against the sentence.