Pakistani court rejects ex-PM Nawaz plea for extension in bail

Pakistani court rejects ex-PM Nawaz plea for extension in bail
# 03 May 2019 16:52 (UTC +04:00)

The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Friday rejected former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's plea seeking an extension in his six-week bail in corruption case, ONA reports citing IRNA.

A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa heard the petition.

The conduct of the petitioner shows there is no imminent threat to his life and the plea was based more on apprehensions, said the chief justice.

Nawaz Sharif was sentenced to seven years in prison and was fined Rs1.5 billion and $25 million in the Al-Azizia corruption reference by an accountability court on December 24, 2018.

The former premier had filed a bail plea in the Islamabad High Court on medical grounds, but it was turned down as the high court noted that 'none of the reports [about Sharif's condition] suggest that continued imprisonment of the petitioner, in any way, would be detrimental to his life'.

Later he moved the Supreme Court which granted the bail to former PM on medical grounds for six weeks.

Sharif family has been fighting a series of cases on accusations of money laundering, tax evasion and hiding offshore assets.

On July 28, 2017, the Supreme Court verdict had, besides disqualifying then Prime Minister Nawaz from his position, also directed the accountability authority to file three references – regarding the family's Avenfield Properties, Al-Azizia, and Flagship Investment – before the accountability court.

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