Sharif moves SC seeking extension of 6-week bail
islamabad — Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday sought an extension of the six-week bail granted to him by the Supreme Court on medical grounds.
On Tuesday, Sharif filed a petition in the apex court which stated that a review petition had been filed in the Supreme Court on its March 26 decision.
The petition sought an extension in Sharif bail until a decision on the review petition.
His bail will expire on May 7. “Given the complicated and life-threatening nature of ischemic heart disease and carotid artery disease from which the petitioner (Sharif) is suffering, it is in the interest of justice that condition imposed for the petitioner’s release on bail merits review,” argued the review petition.
It contended that the only feasible option available to Sharif was to be treated by the same medical practitioners who were looking after him earlier in the United Kingdom. “Unforgivable damage will occur if the bail is not extended,” the application said, adding that there was hope that the review petition filed in the SC would be accepted.
On March 26, the Supreme Court had suspended Sharif ’s sentence and granted him bail for six weeks — but with a condition that he would not leave Pakistan during that period.
All the previous and fresh reports and recommendations by special medical boards as well as different specialists regarding Sharif ’s health were enclosed with the petition.
Sharif had been in jail since December 2018 following his conviction in Al Azizia Steel Mills corruption reference in line with the Supreme Court’s July 2017 verdict.
In December, he was sentenced to seven years in prison after a ruling that Al Azizia Steel Mills — a Saudi Arabian firm carrying the name of Sharif ’s son— belonged to Sharif who could not clarify how the project was funded. The threemember bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, will hear Sharif ’s petition on Friday. — IANS, APP