The sentence of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo, Nawaz Sharif, in the Al-Azizia reference has been suspended by the interim Punjab cabinet, it emerged on Tuesday.
The decision by the provincial cabinet might raise concerns among other political parties in the country.
Caretaker Information Minister Aamir Mir confirmed the Punjab cabinet’s move, saying the decision was taken while exercising its constitutional powers under Section 401 of the Criminal Procedural Code (CPC), which also authorises it to pardon any offender.
The approval was given through a circulation summary.
“The final decision of the case will be taken by the court itself,” he added.
The development comes on the day ahead of Nawaz’s multiple hearings at an accountability court at the Federal Judicial Complex (FJC) and the Islamabad High Court (IHC).
Nawaz Sharif’s sentence was also suspended under the same law on medical grounds before he left for London in 2019 by the then PTI government.
The PML-N supremo had requested for his sentence to be suspended by the Punjab cabinet, Mir said.
It should be noted that Nawaz was sentenced by an accountability court in both the Avenfield and Al-Azizia Steel Mills references.
The sentence was then challenged in the high court, which had suspended the accountability court’s sentence. Appeal proceedings — for the petition challenging the sentence — were underway when the politician travelled to London, United Kingdom, for medical treatment and did not return to pursue the case.
The PML-N supremo — after he moved to Lahore High Court (LHC) instead of the IHC — was allowed to go abroad for four weeks after his brother and party president Shehbaz Sharif submitted an undertaking in the court assuring Nawaz’s return once his health improves.
The IHC — in Nawaz’s absence — threw out the appeals on account of non-prosecution. The court, while declaring him a proclaimed offender, noted that the appeals were rejected on technical grounds and not on the merits of the arguments.
The applicant can once again file an appeal against the sentence upon his return, the court had mentioned in its verdict.
CM Punjab censures Buzdar for rejecting Nawaz’s request
Commenting on the suspension of Nawaz’s sentence by the interim cabinet, Punjab Caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi said an application was submitted to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s Usman Buzdar-led government back in the day. However, the Buzdar administration rejected it.
The interim chief minister, while speaking with journalists at the Jinnah Hospital in Lahore, said his government has only referred Nawaz to the court.
“Now the court has to decide whether he will be bailed or not,” he said, informing journalists about PTI government’s decision to reject the PML-N supremo’s request in the past.
The caretaker chief minister said the government has sent the request to the court, given similar instances have taken place under Section 401 before as well.
Proceedings in Toshkhana case
Upon arriving at the accountability court, Nawaz was called to the rostrum to mark his attendance, after which the judge allowed him to leave if he wished to go.
However, the PML-N supremo’s counsel was present in the courtroom for further proceedings, while Nawaz left for the IHC.
