IHC issues notice to Foreign Ministry to assist Nawaz Sharif's arrest

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) Registrar Office has started implementing the orders and issued notice to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for taking steps to arrest former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) released the arrest warrants of Nawaz Sharif in Al-Azizia and Avenfield cases and also sent its copy to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for assisting the relevant authorities to arrest the former premier who is currently residing in London.

The high court directed authorities to produce Sharif on September 22 during the next hearing. Separate notices have been posted to the Foreign Office by IHC Registrar Office for contacting the British High Commission to implement the court orders regarding the arrest of Nawaz Sharif.

Read: IHC rejects exemption plea of Nawaz Sharif, issues arrest warrants

Yesterday, a detailed verdict had been released by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) over its decision to issue an arrest warrant of the ex-PM and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Nawaz Sharif. The detailed judgment of the division bench of the Islamabad court was written by Justice Aamir Farooq and was also signed by the other judge Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani.

The court noted that the lawyers of Sharif failed to satisfy the bench, therefore an appeal regarding the exemption of the former prime minister from the hearings is therefore rejected.

Read: Toshakhana reference: NAB court declares Nawaz Sharif ‘proclaimed offender’

It is noteworthy to mention here that the exemption plea of the former premier Nawaz Sharif and released his non-bailable arrest warrants in Al-Azizia and Avenfield cases had been rejected by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on September 15.

The high court directed concerned authorities to arrest and produce Sharif in the hearings of the corruption cases. In its verdict, the court stated that Sharif does not deserve bail and relief anymore. Moreover, Sharif’s appeal for attending the hearings through representative was also rejected.

An accountability court in Islamabad had also declared Nawaz Sharif a ‘proclaimed offender’ on September 9 in Toshakhana reference besides indicting four accused persons including former president Asif Ali Zardari and former premier Yousaf Raza Gillani.