IHC releases advertisement for summoning Nawaz on Nov 24
The text of the advertisement issued by the court stated that Nawaz Sharif is a fugitive
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday released the newspaper advertisement for summoning former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif.
The IHC while directing to publish the advertisement of Nawaz Sharif s summon in the newspapers on October 19 remarked that it should be printed in black on a quarter of the back page of the newspaper.
The text of the advertisement issued by the court stated that Nawaz Sharif is a fugitive from the Islamabad High Court and he is being given one last chance to appear in the court through advertisement.
Earlier, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) had given former prime minister the final chance to appear before the court on November 24.
According to details, the order issued by the division bench comprising Justice Amir Farooq and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani states that Nawaz Sharif should be informed to appear before the court through advertisements in both Urdu and English newspapers.
According to the order, the advertisement should also be sent to the UK through the High Commission. Moreover, the advertisement should also be printed in London editions of Urdu and English newspapers, the cost of which will be borne by the federal government.
The decision said that the court has no option but to initiate proceedings to declare Nawaz Sharif a fugitive. It ordered the federal government to submit the advertisement expenses to the High Court within a week.
The court directed the registrar’s office to fix the next hearing of the case on November 24, saying that Sharif’s lawyer Khawaja Haris did not appear in court after the non-bailable arrest warrant was issued. Therefore, the court has no option left but to initiate proceedings under Section 87 of the Pakistan Penal Code.
The court also said that it was not possible for Nawaz Sharif to be unaware of the appeal pending in the Islamabad High Court, witnesses and documents prove that every effort was made to comply with Nawaz Sharif’s arrest warrant.
Last November, Sharif flew to the UK in an air ambulance for medical treatment, a month after he was released on bail from a seven-year prison sentence.
Following the 2017 disqualification of former premier Nawaz Sharif over corruption allegations spurred by the Panama Papers offshore leaks, the Supreme Court had directed NAB to file three references - Avenfield Properties, Al Azizia, and Flagship Investment - against the Sharif family regarding their properties and businesses.
In 2018, the Supreme Court disqualified Sharif from holding public office. Following the conviction, the Sharif family members were imprisoned. However, all three - Nawaz, Maryam and Safdar - were released from Adiala jail in September 2018 after the IHC had suspended their separate prison sentences in the Avenfield corruption reference.
