Court has authority to reject Nawaz Sharif's appeal: Aitzaz Ahsan

ISLAMABAD: A senior leader of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Aitzaz Ahsan, has expressed his opinion that he considered former premier Nawaz Sharif as a proclaimed offender as he violated the court orders, ARY News reported on Tuesday.

Aitzaz Ahsan, while talking to ARY News programme ‘Off The Record’, said that, however, the court has not declared Nawaz Sharif as proclaimed offender but the former premier violated court orders. The court is fully authorised to reject the Sharif’s appeal, he added.

He continued that Nawaz Sharif had also been given relaxation in plane hijacking case in past. The verdict must be retained if Nawaz Sharif is found guilty, he added. He was of the view that the Islamabad High Court (IHC) has no powers to nullify the verdict of Lahore High Court (LHC).

“The undertaking of Shehbaz Sharif is not possessing any legal standing as the final decision for the return of Nawaz Sharif is in hands of doctors. It is an unusual case as Sharif flew abroad despite being convicted and penalised. However, it is not unusual for a perpetrator for going abroad.”

Aitzaz Ahsan claimed that Nawaz Sharif had taken advantage of ‘forum shopping’ in his case which meant to analyse the chance of relaxation by a specific court. He had managed to get bail from IHC instead of LHC to travel abroad.

Earlier in the day, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) gave a chance to former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who is currently in London, to surrender before the court.

An IHC division bench comprising Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani was hearing appeals of Nawaz Sharif against his conviction in Al-Azizia and Avenfield property references. The court also took up the appeals of Maryam Nawaz and retired Captain Mohammad Safdar in the Avenfield reference.

The court directed the PML-N supremo to appear before it no matter what condition he is in and adjourned the hearing of the case until September 10. Maryam along with her spouse appeared in court.

Maryam and Capt Safdar also filed an application with a request for adjourning the Avenfield case until after Sept 5.

The accused have been out on bail since Sept 19, 2018 when the IHC suspended the 10-year, seven-year, and one-year imprisonment handed down to Nawaz, Maryam, and Safdar, respectively by an accountability court on July 6, 2018. The Supreme Court later upheld the suspension of their conviction while rejecting the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) appeal against the high court’s decision.