ISLAMABAD
\nThe Islamabad High Court on Tuesday acquitted former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in the Al-Azizia reference. A division bench, led by IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq, conducted the hearing of the case, with Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb as the other judge on the bench.
\nThe PML-N supremo appeared before the court in person. During the proceedings, a National Accountability Bureau prosecutor presented arguments in the court. An IHC divisional bench consisting of Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb pronounced the verdict a few minutes after it was reserved.
\nThe court also rejected the National Accountability Bureau\u2019s plea to send the case back to the trial court and heard the case on merits. Earlier, the IHC reserved its verdict on the appeal filed by Nawaz Sharif against his conviction in the Al-Azizia reference.
\nBefore that, while again turning down the National Accountability Bureau\u2019s (NAB) request to send the reference back to the accountability court (AC), Chief Justice (CJ) of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) Justice Aamer Farooq said it emphatically that the bench would hear the case on merit.
\n\u201cThe purpose of hearing the appeal is to ascertain whether the verdict given in the case was based on proofs,\u201d the CJ said, adding, \u201cWajid Zia had himself admitted that there existed no material to suggest that the property belonged to the PML-N supremo.\u201d
\nJustice Farooq said the document provided by Zia proved nothing against the appellant. He asked the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) prosecutor to inform the court on what grounds the bureau had tried to prove that former prime minister and PTI Chairman Nawaz Sharif was guilty in Al-Azizia reference.
\n\u201cYou must have proof or witnesses in support of your allegation that the former prime minister was found involved in corrupt practices. Please come to the point.\u201d the judge remarked. The prosecutor replied that the NAB had filed the reference against Nawaz in the light of the order of the Supreme Court (SC) dated July 28.
\nHe further said that the evidence collected by the NAB was part of the record. He said that Nawaz had been indicted on the basis of corruption and corrupt practices. \u201cOfficials of Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), different banks, and the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) appeared in the court as witnesses,\u201d he said, adding, \u201cThis is a white collar crime.\u201d
\nEvidence was collected, he went on to say, not only from within the country but also from outside the country. The prosecutor argued that the former prime minister\u2019s sons did not have the resources to set up the mills. \u201cPlease tell us how Nawaz is connected to the case,\u201d the judge asked.
\nThe prosecutor its simple answer is that the appellant\u2019s sons did not have the means to build these assets. \u201cWe cannot give the decision merely on the basis of a hypothesis,\u201d the CJ said, and asked the prosecutor to show proofs to support the allegation that the PML-N supremo had sent the money abroad through illegal means.
\n\u201cAnd it is also established that Nawaz\u2019s father Mian Sharif had a business,\u201d he added. Earlier, a large number of police personnel have taken their positions as security has been tightened in and around the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in the court in connection with the hearing of the Al-Azizia Steel Mills reference.
\nNo unconcerned people will be allowed to enter the court\u2019s premises, and only the people, with special passes issued by the registrar office, will be let in. On the last hearing, Nawaz\u2019s lawyer Amjad Pervaiz had completed his arguments on his client\u2019s appeal against his conviction in the case.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD The Islamabad High Court on Tuesday acquitted former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in the Al-Azizia reference. A division bench, led by IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq, conducted the hearing of the case, with Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb as the other judge on the bench. The PML-N supremo appeared before the court in person. During […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":360099,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[642],"class_list":{"0":"post-373990","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news","8":"tag-nawaz-sharif"},"yoast_head":"\n