Hassan, Hussain Nawaz's arrest warrants suspended in Avenfield case

ISLAMABAD: An accountability court on Thursday suspended the permanent arrest warrants of Hassan and Hussain Nawaz, sons of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, ARY News reported.

Yesterday, both sons of the PML-N supremo, filed pleas in the accountability court seeking suspension of arrest warrants in the NAB References Avenfield, Flagship and Al-Azizia.

Qazi Misbahul Hasan and Rana Irfan Advocate appeared before the court on behalf of Hassan and Hussain Nawaz.

The accountability court judge Nasir Javed Rana announced the reserved verdict and suspended the permanent arrest warrants till March 14.

It is pertinent to mention here an accountability court on July 11, 2018 issued non-bailable arrest warrants for Hussain and Hassan Nawaz, who were declared absconders in the Avenfield reference case.

Both Hussain and Hassan, who are currently in London, were instructed to appear before the accountability court which sought to wind up references in the Avenfield reference case and other graft cases.

In a major relief for the PML-N, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) earlier acquitted former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in the Avenfield reference.

The case background

An accountability court on July 6, 2018, sentenced former premier Nawaz Sharif to a total of 10 years in prison and directed him to pay a fine of £8 million after finding him guilty on different charges in the Avenfield reference. The court also disqualified Sharif for holding public office for 10 years.

Judge Muhammad Bashir had handed out seven-year imprisonment to the former premier’s daughter Maryam Nawaz and a fine of £2 million. While her husband Safdar was awarded one year’s jail term.