The Islamabad High Court (IHC) acquitted PML-N supremo and three-time former premier Nawaz Sharif in the Avenfield reference.
An IHC division bench comprising Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb announced the verdict.
During the hearing today, Nawaz's counsel Amjad Pervaiz took to the rostrum and contended that the accountability court had acquitted Nawaz from Section 9A of the NAB Ordinance in the Avenfield reference.
In July 2018, an accountability court sentenced the PML-N supremo to rigorous imprisonment for a term of 10 years with a fine of £8 million (Rs1.92 billion) in the Avenfield Apartments corruption reference for owning assets beyond known sources of income and an additional year for not cooperating with NAB, both of them to be served concurrently.
Later in Dec 2018, Nawaz was sentenced to seven years of rigorous imprisonment along with a fine of Rs1.2 billion and $25 million after an accountability court found him guilty in the Al-Azizia reference. He subsequently filed appeals against his convictions in the IHC.
While the court was still in the process of hearing the appeals, the PML-N leader flew to London in Nov 2019 after receiving a rare permission for medical treatment abroad.
As a result, an IHC bench led by Justice Farooq dismissed the appeals on June 24, 2021 because of the PML-N supremo’s failure to appear in court for hearings.
Last month, the IHC restored the PML-N supremo’s appeals against his conviction in the Avenfield Apartments and Al-Azizia references after he filed separate applications in the court for their revival following his return from the UK.
