Islamabad High Court declares Nawaz Sharif fugitive

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has declared former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif a fugitive in Al-Azizia and Avenfield references on Wednesday (today).

According to the details, a bench of Justice Amir Farooq and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani in the IHC heard the appeals of Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) leader Nawaz Sharif against his conviction in Al-Azizia and Avenfield references.

Nawaz Sharif did not appear despite the advertisement summons when Director Europe at the Foreign Office Mohammad Mubashir Khan recorded his statement in the court while Deputy Attorney General Tayyab Shah took an oath to tell the truth to the witness. Khan filed a miscellaneous application along with certified documents in the Avenfield and Al-Azizia cases.

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“The copy of aforesaid receipt is already available on record, however, an attested copy having become available is submitted soon upon its receipt through diplomatic bag,” the application reads and pleads with the court to take it on record in the interest of justice.

He said that the Pakistan High Commission responded to the Foreign Office on November 9, 2020. Nawaz Sharif was informed about the compliance of advertisements through Royal Mail while on November 30, he received a certified copy of the compliance report.

After the completion of the statement of Mubashir Khan, the court made the documents presented by him a part of the court record.

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It was informed that the warrants posted through Royal Mail were received at Sharif’s London residence. The court ruled that it will record statements of the relevant officials of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and the Foreign Office at the next hearing and directed the agency to submit all relevant records.