Islamabad High Court suspends sentence of former PM Nawaz Sharif, Maryam, Safdar

September 19, 2018

On Wednesday, the Islamabad High Court suspended the sentences of former Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz & son-in-law Captain (retd) Muhammad Safdar Awan in the Avenfield case.

According to GeoNews, a 2-Judge bench comprising Justices Athar Minallah & Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb heard the petition challenging the verdict in the Avenfield reference & suspended it due to lack of evidence in the case.

The bench ordered the release of the jailed former prime minister, his daughter & son-in-law, who were jailed in July for 11 years, 8 years & 1 year, respectively.

The Court also directed the 3 persons, currently lodged in Adiala Jail, to submit bail bonds worth Rs 0.5 million each.

Several Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders including Shehbaz Sharif, Pervaiz Rashid & Khurram Dastgi were present at the hearing.

Nawaz Sharif & Maryam were convicted in absentia in the Avenfield case on 6th July by the Accountability Court. Apart from serving jail sentences, fines of 8 million pounds & 2 million pounds were slapped on the father-daughter duo, respectively.

Safdar (son-in -law), on the other hand, was given a 1-year sentence but exempted from paying fine.