Islamabad HC Dismisses Nawaz Sharif’s Plea to Club 3 Graft Cases
Earlier, the accountability court postponed hearing of graft cases against Sharif due to the expected HC verdict.
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The Islamabad High Court (IHC) dismissed ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's plea to club three corruption cases against him into one, on Monday, 4 December.
A two-member bench issued a short order turning down his appeal and said that a detailed judgment would be issued later.
The cases were registered by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on 8 September against Sharif, his family in the Accountability Court Islamabad, following a verdict by Supreme Court in the Panama Papers case.
The accountability court in Islamabad had on 8 November rejected a plea by 67-year-old Sharif to club his cases together, which he challenged in the Islamabad High Court.
The IHC had completed the hearing and reserved the judgment on 23 November, which it announced on Monday.
The three cases against the Sharif family are related to the Al-Azizia Company and Hill Metal Establishment, Flagship Investment Ltd and the Avenfield (London) properties.
Earlier, the accountability court postponed hearing of graft cases against Sharif until this afternoon due to the expected verdict of the high court.
Sharif along with his daughter Maryam and son-in-law Muhammad Safdar appeared in the court.
His lawyer Khawaja Harris requested Judge Mohammad Bashir to suspend proceedings and wait for the Islamabad High Court's decision on a petition by Sharif to club his three graft cases into one, as all were related to his alleged amassing of assets beyond the known sources of income.
The court after hearing the argument from the NAB prosecutor postponed hearing till 1 pm and allowed Sharif to go home but ordered him to be present when the hearing would restart.
Sharif and his sons, Hassan and Hussain, have been named in all three NAB references, while Maryam and her husband Safdar named only in the Avenfield reference.
Maryam, on 23 November, requested exemption from personal appearance between 5 December 2017 and 5 January 2018, while Sharif sought exemption between 5 and 12 December.
The court is expected to give its decision on the two pleas on 4 December.
Last month, Sharif was indicted in all three cases while his daughter Maryam and her husband Muhammad Safdar, co- accused with Sharif in only one case, were also indicted along with Sharif.
Sharif's sons Hassan and Hussian have failed to appear in the court despite repeated summons, which prompted it to separate their case.
Ahead of the verdict, hundreds of security personnel have been deployed around the court premises to deal with any situation.
The cases are based on the 28 July verdict by the Supreme Court which disqualified Sharif and ordered to launch three corruption cases against him and his family, and one case against finance minister Ishaq Dar.
(Published in an arrangement with PTI.)
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