IHC acquits Nawaz in Avenfield reference

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) acquitted PML-N supremo and three-time former premier Nawaz Sharif in the Avenfield reference. An IHC division bench comprising Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb announced the verdict.  During the hearing today, Nawaz's counsel Amjad Pervaiz took to the rostrum and contended that the accountability court had acquitted Nawaz from Section 9A of the NAB Ordinance in the Avenfield reference. He added that now only Section 9A(5) remains in the case which pertains to assets beyond means and then read the law out in court.  After the counsel had finished reading aloud the law, Justice Aurangzeb said the court relied on several judgments by the apex court for the verdict on the suspension of the sentence.  He added that the Supreme Court had further elaborated on the matter and directed the lawyer to assist the court on this.  Pervaiz then argued that the investigation agency has to investigate the source of the assets and then compare known sources of income.  He further argued that the investigation failed to prove all sections added to the case and then submitted details of Nawaz's assets in court.  IHC CJ Farooq then asked the counsel whether the assets were requisitioned at the same time or separately. The lawyer replied that the properties were obtained between 1993 and 1996 and maintained that there was no mention that the properties were linked to the PML-N supremo.  "There is not a single reference that can prove, without doubt, that Nawaz had any connection with the said properties." Referring to the cross-examination of Wajid Zia, Pervaiz said Zia had also said there was no evidence to link Nawaz with the properties.  Continuing his arguments, the counsel added that there was no verbal or documented proof that the properties were owned by the PML-N supremo.  When asked if the onus was on the prosecution to prove, Pervaiz replied in the affirmative.  He added that the prosecution was also responsible for explaining how the public office was used to aquire benaami properties and maintained that the trial court had announced the verdict in the "basis of assumption" and issued the judgment on the generality of evidence.  Nawaz's counsel, referring to the verdict, said the court had ruled that the prosecution did not have any document to prove as evidence in the case.  The NAB prosecutor said the reference was filed due to the apex court's judgment to which Justice Aurangzeb observed that the court's understanding was that NAB was compelled to file the reference against Nawaz.  In July 2018, an accountability court sentenced the PML-N supremo to rigorous imprisonment for a term of 10 years with a fine of £8 million (Rs1.92 billion) in the Avenfield Apartments corruption reference for owning assets beyond known sources of income and an additional year for not cooperating with NAB, both of them to be served concurrently. Later in Dec 2018, Nawaz was sentenced to seven years of rigorous imprisonment along with a fine of Rs1.2 billion and $25 million after an accountability court found him guilty in the Al-Azizia reference. He subsequently filed appeals against his convictions in the IHC. While the court was still in the process of hearing the appeals, the PML-N leader flew to London in Nov 2019 after receiving a rare permission for medical treatment abroad. As a result, an IHC bench led by Justice Farooq dismissed the appeals on June 24, 2021 because of the PML-N supremo’s failure to appear in court for hearings. Last month, the IHC restored the PML-N supremo’s appeals against his conviction in the Avenfield Apartments and Al-Azizia references after he filed separate applications in the court for their revival following his return from the UK.

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