The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday directed former prime minister Nawaz Sharif to appear before the court and surrender to the authorities by September 10 or face legal proceedings for absconsion.
A division bench of the high court comprising Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani and Justice Aamer Farooq also directed the deputy attorney general to verify the medical condition of Mr Sharif through the Pakistani High Commission in London.
The bench issued the directives during the hearing of appeals filed by Mr Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law retired captain Mohammad Safdar against conviction in National Accountability Bureau (NAB) references.
The former prime minister, his daughter and son-in-law were convicted in Avenfield properties reference on July 6, 2018, while Mr Sharif was also convicted in Al-Azizia reference on Dec 24, 2018.
Appearing before the bench, Khawaja Haris Ahmed, the counsel for Mr Sharif, contended that the high court had suspended the sentence awarded to the appellant and granted bail for a period of eight weeks with the observation that if it was to be extended the same should be done by the Punjab government under Section 401(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code.
It was submitted that the provincial government, vide its decision dated Feb 27, 2020, did not extend the suspension of sentence of the appellant and as such the suspension and bail of the appellant lapsed. However, the counsel argued that the appellant’s health did not allow him to travel to Pakistan and appear before the court.