The Islamabad High Court on Tuesday adjourned the hearings of appeals filed by jailed former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz, and son-in-law Captain Safdar Awan against their conviction in a corruption case, Geo News reported.
The court adjourned the hearings till the last week of July, which means the three will not be let out before the general elections on July 25. It, however, issued a notice to the National Accountability Bureau to respond to the appeals, which were filed on Monday.
In their appeals, the three have highlighted alleged flaws in the accountability court’s July 6 verdict and asked for the judgement to be declared null and void.
The two-judge bench of the Islamabad High Court also issued a notice to the National Accountability Bureau on Sharif’s request to transfer the remaining corruption cases against him to another judge. However, Justice Muhammad Bashir – who had announced the previous verdict – has recused himself from the cases, PTI reported, quoting unidentified court officials.
Sharif’s brother seeks better jail conditions
Meanwhile, Sharif’s brother and the chief of his party, Shahbaz Sharif, has written to the government requesting better facilities for the former prime minister at the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, Dawn reported. He claimed the “pathetic prison environment” was “highly detrimental” to Nawaz Sharif’s health.
“He was not even given newspaper to read, his bed was a mattress on the floor and washroom was not clean and there was no air conditioner in the room,” Shahbaz Sharif wrote. “Nawaz Sharif, a heart and diabetic patient, needs timely medicine and frequent visits to a doctor. His personal doctor who knows his medical condition well should be allowed to visit him twice a day.”
On July 6, an accountability court sentenced Sharif to 10 years in jail, Maryam Nawaz to seven years, and Awan to one year in the corruption case. Awan was arrested three days later, while Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz were arrested soon after they landed in Lahore on July 13.
The National Accountability Bureau had filed three cases related to the purchase of four flats in London’s Avenfield House against Sharif and his children. The bureau registered the case on the basis of the Supreme Court’s verdict last year, which removed Sharif from the post of prime minister.
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