Sharif moves SC for bail

Islamabad: Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Friday moved Supreme Court (SC) for his bail in National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) Al-Azizia reference. In a petition, the former PM has requested to annul Islamabad High Court (IHC) decision of dismissing his bail in the case. He said that he is suffering from complicated diseases due to which, the doctors have recommended him angiography. Earlier, IHC had disposed of bail petition filed by Nawaz Sharif on medical grounds in Al-Azizia reference case. A bench comprising Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani announced the verdict. The nine-page judgment mentioned that “where a prisoner is receiving medical treatment in hospital or in jail, he would not be entitled to the concession of bail; the petitioner has been hospitalized time and again since January, 2019, whenever he made complaints about his indisposition. In fact the reports of Board of Doctors and various Teams constituted, are indicative of the fact that petitioner is receiving best possible medical treatment available to any individual in Pakistan. The referred fact cannot be regarded as an ‘extraordinary situation’ and/or case of ‘extreme hardship’. Almost, every ailment has potential of being detrimental to one’s life but not, if the same is properly treated and taken care of, therefore, being indisposed per se cannot form basis to be released on bail.” Another point of the judgment read “Finally, we find that objection taken by learned counsel for the respondents regarding maintainability of instant petition, is of no substance. The medical condition of the petitioner deteriorated on or about 15.01.2019 and it is only there-after that instant writ petition was filed. The case law cited by learned counsel for National Accountability Bureau is not attracted in the facts and circumstances of instant case.” The accountability court on December 24 convicted Sharif in the Al-Azizia reference, and subsequently sentenced him to seven years in prison while acquitted him in the Flagship reference cases filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in mega corruption scandals. NAB had filed three cases – Avenfield, Al-Azizia Steel Mills and Hill Metal Establishment, and offshore companies, including Flagship Investment Limited – against the Sharifs on the Supreme Court’s directives in the July 2017 Panamagate verdict. The trial commenced later in September that year.