Nawaz Sharif challenges IHC verdict over his bail in Supreme Court

ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Friday challenged the Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) verdict on his petition seeking bail on medical grounds, ARY News reported.

The high court on Feb 25 had rejected Sharif’s plea seeking suspension of sentence in Al-Azizia reference on medical grounds.

Nawaz Sharif’s counsel Khawaja Haris filed a petition in Supreme Court today to challenge the IHC decision.

Sharif, in his petition, has made the federation, National Accountability Bureau (NAB), the accountability court judge and the superintendent jail as parties in the case.

The petition said that the petitioner has been imprisoned and suffering from serious health problems, for which several medical tests were conducted.

The plea said that the high court failed to use its authority and committed an error in exercise of its authority while giving the decision.

The petition also argued that the high court resorted to wrong application of the parameters set by the Supreme Court and didn’t take the principles of bail in consideration. The court perceived that the petitioner have facilities available at hospital for his medical treatment, while the required treatment yet to begin.

The petition contended that the former prime minister immediately required medical treatment, the failure in it could inflict irreparable damage to his health.

The petition seeks the apex court to declare the Islamabad High Court’s decision as void.

A division bench of the IHC comprising Justice Amir Farooq and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani, dismissed the plea of the former premier, stating that the bail can not be granted on medical basis.

The former premier is currently imprisoned at Kot Lakhpat jail in Lahore.

An accountability court in Islamabad had pronounced a seven-year jail term to the former premier and ordered him to pay $25million and Rs1.5 billion as fine in Al-Azizia reference on December 24 last year.