{"id":29635,"date":"2023-11-29T12:38:05","date_gmt":"2023-11-29T12:38:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/in-major-relief-ihc-acquits-nawaz-sharif-in-avenfield-reference\/"},"modified":"2023-11-29T12:38:05","modified_gmt":"2023-11-29T12:38:05","slug":"in-major-relief-ihc-acquits-nawaz-sharif-in-avenfield-reference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/in-major-relief-ihc-acquits-nawaz-sharif-in-avenfield-reference\/","title":{"rendered":"In major relief, IHC acquits Nawaz Sharif in Avenfield reference"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div dir=\"auto\">\n<p>In a massive relief for the PML-N, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday acquitted former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in the Avenfield reference.<\/p>\n<p>The verdict was announced by a two-member bench comprising IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb on Nawaz\u2019s appeal against his conviction in the case.<\/p>\n<p>In July 2018, an accountability court had handed the PML-N leader 10 years in jail in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1418326\">Avenfield properties<\/a> corruption reference for owning assets beyond known income and one year for not cooperating with the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), both of which were to be served concurrently.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"media  sm:w-1\/2  w-full  media--right  media--embed  media--uneven\">\n<p>    <iframe class=\"nk-iframe\" onload=\"setInterval(()=&gt;{try{this.style.height=this.contentWindow.document.body.scrollHeight+'px';}catch{}}, 100)\" width=\"100%\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" style=\"height:400px;position:relative\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/card\/1793173\" sandbox=\"allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-popups allow-modals allow-forms\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The IHC had declared him a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1578894\">proclaimed offender<\/a> in the case in December 2020. After <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1517603\">leaving for London<\/a> on medical grounds, Nawaz remained there for nearly four years and only <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1782567\">returned<\/a> to the country last month.<\/p>\n<p>Following his return from the UK, the PML-N leader had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1783180\">filed<\/a> an application seeking the restoration of his appeal against his conviction.<\/p>\n<p>He had contended that while he was abroad for medical treatment, the pen\u00ad\u00adding appeals were dismissed for non-prosecution. The plea req\u00adu\u00adested the court to revive the pending appeal for a decision on them on merit. Last month, the IHC had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1784080\/ihc-restores-nawazs-appeals-in-avenfield-al-azizia-cases\">restored<\/a> the appeal in question.<\/p>\n<p>Today, the court set aside the accountability court\u2019s verdict and accepted Nawaz\u2019s appeal.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking to reporters after the hearing, the PML-N supremo said: \u201cI thank God as I had left the entire matters on him. God has made us victorious today.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Separately, in a <a rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"link--external\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MaryamNSharif\/status\/1729827371254165716\">post<\/a> on X (formerly Twitter), Maryam Nawaz said today\u2019s verdict showed how God vindicated those who put their unwavering trust in him.<\/p>\n<h2><a id=\"the-hearing\" href=\"#the-hearing\" class=\"heading-permalink\" aria-hidden=\"true\" title=\"Permalink\"\/>The hearing<\/h2>\n<p>As the proceedings commenced, Nawaz\u2019s lawyers came to the rostrum. Advocate Amjad Pervaiz contended that the accountability court had acquitted the PML-N supremo from Section 9A of the <a rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"link--external\" href=\"https:\/\/pakistancode.gov.pk\/english\/UY2FqaJw1-apaUY2Fqa-apaUY2Npa5ljaQ%3D%3D-sg-jjjjjjjjjjjjj\">NAB Ordinance<\/a> in the Avenfield reference.<\/p>\n<p>Now, only section 9A(5) is remaining in the case which pertains to assets beyond means, the counsel said and then proceeded to read the law out loud in court.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUnder Section 9A(5), the prosecution has to prove certain facts and the accused is required to be shown as a public office holder,\u201d he said. The law states that the accused\u2019s income should not match with his assets, the lawyer added.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think Nawaz\u2019s sentence was suspended on the same basis,\u201d Justice Aurangzeb said here. \u201cWe relied on several judgments of the Supreme Court for the verdict on the suspension of the sentence,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>The judge added that later the apex court had further elaborated on the matter and directed the lawyer to assist the court on this.<\/p>\n<p>Continuing the arguments, Pervaiz said the investigation agency has to investigate the source of the assets at the time of their acquisition and compare known sources of income with the value of the assets.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut this case is such that its contents have yet not been proven,\u201d he said, adding that the investigators failed to prove all the sections of crime.<\/p>\n<p>Subsequently, the lawyer submitted date-wise details of Nawaz\u2019s assets in court.<\/p>\n<p>At that, the IHC CJ asked if if these assets were requisitioned at the same time or separately. \u201cThese properties were obtained from 1993 to 1996,\u201d the lawyer replied, highlighting that nowhere it was written in the reference that these properties were linked to Nawaz.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhether it is the joint investigation team, NAB reports, references or statements, the value of these properties were not written anywhere,\u201d he contended. \u201cThere is not a single page that can prove Nawaz had any connection with these properties.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Pervaiz further stated that Wajid Zia, the prosecution witness, had also stated during the cross-examination that he had no evidence to prove the PML-N supremo\u2019s connection with the properties.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo these documents include the date of acquisition of the properties and their value?\u201d Justice Farooq asked. The PML-N counsel responded that the details were mentioned in some documents but they did not have any information that could prove Nawaz\u2019s connection with the properties.<\/p>\n<p>Pervaiz further pointed out that the most important question was that of the ownership of the properties. \u201cThere is no verbal nor documented evidence that these properties were ever owned by Nawaz Sharif,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>The lawyer added that prosecution had to prove Maryan Nawaz, Hussain Nawaz and Hassan Nawaz were under the patronage of the PML-N supremo. \u201cBut there is no evidence for that either,\u201d he argued.<\/p>\n<p>Pervaiz also reiterated that there is no evidence the properties were ever under the ownership of Nawaz.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIs this all the job of the prosecution?\u201d the IHC CJ asked, to which the lawyer replied in the affirmative.<\/p>\n<p>At one point, Justice Aurangzeb asked the NAB prosecutor if he was noting the points highlighted by Pervaiz. \u201cHe is talking about very important things,\u201d the judge highlighted.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes sir, I am noting,\u201d the prosecutor replied but Justice Aurangzeb cut him short and said that the former did not have a pen in his hands, prompting laughter in the courtroom.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Pervaiz went on to say that the prosecution was also responsible for explaining how the public office was used to acquire \u201c<em>benaami<\/em> properties\u201d and read orders issued by the SC regarding the matter.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are aware of the main contents of <em>benaami<\/em> under the criminal law,\u201d Justice Aurangzeb said and directed the lawyer to assist the court regarding the same under the NAB Ordinance.<\/p>\n<p>Pervaiz contended that the court announced the verdict on \u201cthe basis of assumption\u201d and penned the verdict on the basis of generality not evidence.<\/p>\n<p>The court had said Maryam Nawaz was a beneficial owner and also under the patronage of the PML-N leader, he pointed out, adding that it was also written that children were in most circumstances dependent on their father.<\/p>\n<p>He recalled that the Lahore High Court had earlier acquitted a NAB suspect, Intelligence Bureau\u2019s former brigadier Imtiaz, on the basis that the accountability watchdog had determined the value of his alleged properties without determining his income.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe SC had also maintained this decision and did not give a differing judgment,\u201d the PML-N counsel highlighted, adding that the IHC had also upheld the same in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1712683\">Avenfield case<\/a> against Maryam Nawaz.<\/p>\n<p>Referring to this verdict, Pervaiz stated that the court had ruled that the prosecution did not have a single document to prove as evidence in the case.<\/p>\n<p>Here, Justice Aurangzeb stated that the court had recently issued an order under which four categories needed to be proven pertaining to <em>benaami<\/em> properties or accounts.<\/p>\n<p>For his part, the NAB prosecutor said the reference was filed due to the SC\u2019s judgment to which the Justice Aurangzeb noted that the court\u2019s understanding was that the accountability watchdog was compelled for file the reference.<\/p>\n<h2><a id=\"the-case\" href=\"#the-case\" class=\"heading-permalink\" aria-hidden=\"true\" title=\"Permalink\"\/>The case<\/h2>\n<p>The Avenfield reference pertains to the purchase of four flats in Avenfield House, Park Lane, London. It was among the three cases filed by NAB against the former premier and his children on the Supreme Court\u2019s orders in its landmark <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1348191\">July 28 Panamagate verdict<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The proceeding in the Avenfield reference had commenced in September 2017 and an accountability court had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1364817\/nawaz-maryam-and-capt-safdar-indicted-in-nab-references-plead-not-guilty\">indicted<\/a> Nawaz, Maryam Nawaz and Captain Safdar on October 19, 2017.<\/p>\n<p>According to the JIT report submitted in the Panamagate case, the Sharifs had given contradictory statements about their London flats and found that the flats actually belonged to them since 1993.<\/p>\n<p>It said Nawaz had distanced himself from the apartments and could not explain the time frame and procedure adopted for obtaining the possession of Avenfield apartments by his sons and was even uncertain about which son claimed the ownership of the flats now.<\/p>\n<p>An accountability court in July 2018 had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1418326\">handed<\/a> Nawaz 10 years as jail time for owning assets beyond known income and one year for not cooperating with NAB in the case, as well as a fine of \u00a38m.<\/p>\n<p>Last year, the IHC had acquitted Maryam and her spouse retired Capt Safdar of the charges levelled in the Aven\u00adfield apartments reference and set aside an accountability court\u2019s July 2018 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1418326\">verdict<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In a massive relief for the PML-N, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday acquitted former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in the Avenfield reference. The verdict was announced by a two-member bench comprising IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb on Nawaz\u2019s appeal against his conviction in the case. In July 2018, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":29636,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/i.dawn.com\/large\/2023\/11\/29145226e4bca1e.png?r=145255","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29635","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pakistan"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29635","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29635"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29635\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29636"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29635"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29635"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29635"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}