*ISLAMABAD – The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday issued a detailedjudgment regarding its September 19 order suspending the imprisonment offormer premier Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-lawCaptain (retd) Muhammad Safdar in the Avenfield corruption reference.*
The 41 pager detailed verdict of the IHC has been written by Justice AtharMinallah.
The judgement read, “In hindsight, the sentences awarded to the suspectscannot hold for a long time. The accountability court which awarded thesentences did not state how or refer to evidence regarding how Maryamassisted Nawaz in the purchase of the Avenfield apartments.”
The judgement added, “The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) mostlyrelied on Panama Papers case to argue their points against suspension insentences.”
Justice Athar Minallah argued, “Suspects were also indicted under NABordinance Section 9(a)(iv) but a trial court acquitted them under the same.However, the prosecution did not challenge the acquittal.”
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“Court findings are not final and our opinions or observations will notinfluence the appeals,” the judgment further remarked.
As an interim relief, the Islamabad High Court on September 19 suspendedthe conviction of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter MaryamNawaz and son-in-law Captain (retd) Safdar in the Avenfield properties case.
A division bench comprising Justice Athar Minallah and Justice MiangulHassan Aurangzeb suspended their sentence through a short verdict.
