Former Pak PM challenges his 10-year jail term; verdict today

Jailed former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter and sonin-law on Monday filed separate appeals challenging the verdict in a corruption case and the Islamabad High Court will hear them on Tuesday, a media report said.

Sharif, 68, and daughter Maryam, 44, were arrested in Lahore on July 13 on arrival from London after an accountability court found them guilty over his family’s ownership of four luxury flats in London. They were later taken to Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi. Sharif ’s son-inlaw, Capt (retd) Muhammad Safdar, arrested on July 8, is also lodged in Adiala Jail.

Seven appeals were filed in the Islamabad High Court by the convicts’ lawyers — three on behalf of Sharif, and two each on behalf of Maryam and Safdar — on the corruption cases against them, Dawn News said.

The court will hear on Tuesday the appeals filed by Sharif, Maryam and Safdar challenging the Avenfield verdict against them, Geo

News reported.

The appeal highlighted the legal flaws in the Avenfield House verdict and pleaded to nullify the Islamabad Accountability Court’s verdict. Moreover, it (the appeal) further sought the release of three convicts on bail. An appeal was also filed against conducting the proceedings of the remaining two corruption cases on the Adiala jail premises, it added.

A separate appeal was filed to request the transfer of the

case to another accountability court as the defence counsel argued Judge Mohammad Bashir of the accountability court had already made public his opinion on multiple aspects of the case. The same appeal had been filed earlier and were instructed by the court to pursue the matter in the relevant high court.

The court had sentenced Sharif to 10 years in jail and imposed US $10 million fine in the corruption case.