Avenfield case: Islamabad HC to hear Sharifs' appeals

Islamabad (Pakistan): The Islamabad High Court's (IHC) constitutional bench on Tuesday will hear petitions filed by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam and son-in-law Captain (retired) Safdar against their convictions in the Avenfield reference case.

Nawaz was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment and fined eight million pounds in the corruption reference, while Maryam was awarded a seven-year jail sentence and fine of two million pounds.

Safdar, on the other hand, was given a one-year sentence but exempted from paying fine.

The Sharifs had filed petitions challenging their convictions in the IHC citing legal flaws in the Avenfield judgment. They are now demanding the judicature to grant them bail and declare the accountability court's verdict null and void.

An additional appeal has also been filed requesting the judicature to transfer the Al-Azizia and Flagship Investment references against the former prime minister to another accountability court from the court of Accountability Judge-I Mohammad Bashir.

On a related note, Islamabad's chief commissioner on Monday declared Nawaz's private ward at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences' (PIMS) Cardiac Centre as a 'sub-jail'.