ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) Tuesday acquitted Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif in the Al-Azizia reference.
A two-judge bench comprising IHC Chief Justice (CJ) Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb announced the verdict, which was reserved earlier in the day, while hearing Nawaz’s appeal against his conviction in the Al-Azizia reference.
The same bench had acquitted the PML-N leader in the Avenfield reference on November 29.
Regarding the Al-Azizia Steel Mills corruption case, on December 24, 2018, he was found guilty and given a seven-year prison sentence. He also received fines of US$25 million and Rs. 1.5 billion.
The statement refers to the Sharifs’ inability to explain where the money from which Al-Azizia Steel Mills and Hill Metal Establishment (HME) were established in Saudi Arabia came from.
He was deemed a proclaimed offender in the case by the IHC in December 2020. Nawaz left the country for London due to health concerns, staying there for almost four years before coming back in October of this year.
Not long after his return, Nawaz formally submitted two applications to reinstate his appeals against the conviction in question.
In the application, the PML-N supreme leader had said that while he was abroad for medical treatment, the pending appeals were dismissed for non-prosecution. The application requested the court to revive the pending appeals to decide on these pleas on merit.
The IHC had on Oct 24 revived Nawaz’s appeals in the two reference.
