Al-Azizia case: Pak court to hear Sharif's plea on September 18

The Islamabad High Court will hear on September 18 the plea of jailed former prime minister Nawaz Sharif seeking suspension of his sentence in connection with the Al-Azizia Steel Mills corruption case.

The Islamabad High Court will hear on September 18 the plea of jailed former prime minister Nawaz Sharif seeking suspension of his sentence in connection with the Al-Azizia Steel Mills corruption case. A two-judge bench comprising Justice Amir Farooq and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani said on Saturday that it will hear the matter, Geo News reported.

On that day itself, the court will also hear the National Accountability Bureau's (NAB) plea against Sharif's acquittal in the Flagship Investment reference. The hearing has been set in September in view of the summer vacation in the high courts.

In December last year, an accountability court had handed a seven-year prison sentence to Sharif in the Al-Azizia case and a fine of Rs 1.5 billion and USD 25 million, while acquitting him in the Flagship reference. The 69-year-old leader is currently serving his term at the Kot Lakhpat Jail in Lahore.

On June 30, the Islamabad High Court had ruled that Sharif's medical reports were vague, and subsequently dismissed his petition seeking suspension of his sentence on medical grounds. In the plea, Sharif had sought the suspension of his sentence and subsequent release on bail owing to his 'deteriorating' health condition.

Meanwhile, Pakistan's Supreme Court will hear a case on July 16 over a purported video allegedly involving Arshad Malik, who was removed from the post of accountability court judge by the government on a request by the Islamabad the High Court. The matter will be heard by a three-judge bench of the top court led by Chief Justice Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa. The apex court has issued notices to PML-N leaders Maryam Nawaz, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, and others.

On Friday, the Islamabad High Court had ordered the law ministry to remove Malik from his post, days after the purported video got leaked in which he allegedly admitted that he was "pressurised and blackmailed" to convict Sharif in the Al-Azizia case. On July 6, Maryam had released the alleged video of Malik telling a PML-N worker that there was a lack of evidence against her father in the Al-Azizia case and that he was "pressurised and blackmailed" to convict him.

However, Malik denied the allegations and claimed that Maryam tried to bribe him during the former premier's trial. (ANI)

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