World News | Federal Govt Responsible for Bringing Back Sharif: IHC

Islamabad, Sep 22 (PTI) A high court in Pakistan on Tuesday said that the federal government was responsible for bringing back former prime minister Nawaz Sharif from London to stand a trial in the country.

A two-member bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) took up hearing of Sharif's case on Tuesday. Sharif, 70, the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) supremo, has been living in London since November last year after the Lahore High Court granted him permission to go abroad for four weeks for treatment.

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The court on September 15 issued non-bailable arrest warrants for Sharif who failed to surrender before it despite clear warning by the bench.

The IHC said the onus was on the federal government to bring back Sharif from London to stand a trial in Pakistan.

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At the start of the hearing, the court asked about Sharif and the additional attorney general, on behalf of the state, informed the court that the execution of the former premier's arrest warrants had commenced.

"Nawaz Sharif's arrest warrants were sent to Britain on September 17 and Pakistan High Commission officer Rao Abdul Hanan went to Nawaz Sharif's house with warrants where a person named Yaqub refused to receive them," the additional attorney general said.

He added that Pakistan High Commission in the UK then sent an arrest warrant through the Royal Mail which was received by Sharif's son Hassan Nawaz at their Avenfield residence.

The judges were not happy at the official response and Justice Amir Farooq remarked that the court was not even informed when the federal government allowed Sharif to go abroad.

"No petition was filed before the court by the government to allow Nawaz to go aboard and now we are waiting for him to appear before the court so that his appeal could be heard," he said.

Sharif had filed an appeal against Al-Aziza steel mills case but the court set the condition that he first appear before the court and then his appeal would be heard.

However, Sharif's party and lawyer have said that he was getting treatment for various medical complications and would come only if allowed by the doctors.

Sharif staged a political comeback on Sunday by criticising the powerful Army and said the Opposition was not against Prime Minister Imran Khan but against those who brought an "inefficient" man to power.

Addressing the All-Parties Conference (APC) hosted by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) via a video link aimed at launching a protest movement against the Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government, the three-time premier launched a scathing attack on the ruling party for its “failure to address the basic problems of the people”.

Sharif, his daughter Maryam and son-in-law Muhammad Safdar were convicted in the Avenfield properties case on July 6, 2018.

Sharif, who was deposed in 2017, was also sentenced to seven years in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills case in December 2018. But, he was bailed out in both cases and also allowed to go to London for medical treatment.

He was given eight weeks to return but failed to come back due to health complications, according to his lawyer.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)