IHC grants Maryam exemption from personal appearance

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday granted PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz exemption from personal appearance in today’s hearing of appeals in the Avenfield Apartment reference.

A two-judge bench comprising Justice Aamir Farooq and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani heard an application filed by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s daughter through her lawyer Amjad Pervez.

The counsel stated that his client was busy running her party’s campaign for the upcoming election in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), due to which she couldn’t turn up before the court.

The court approved Maryam’s application and adjourned the hearing until July 26.

Maryam Nawaz Sharif and her husband Captain (retd) Mohammad Safdar Awan had filed appeals against their conviction in the Avenfield Apartment reference. The Islamabad High Court (IHC) segregated the appeals of Nawaz Sharif from the appeals of Maryam and Safdar and declared the former premier a proclaimed offender over his perpetual absence from the hearing.

On July 6, 2018, Accountability Judge Mohammad Bashir had convicted Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz Sharif and Captain (retd) Mohammad Safdar Awan in the Avenfield Apartment reference and awarded them prison terms of 10 years, seven years and one year, respectively.

The court later suspended their respective sentences.