Pakistan court asks Sharif to seem before it in order to avoid being declared proclaimed offender
11 October, 2020
A Pakistani court has ordered Nawaz Sharif to seem before it by November 24 in order to avoid being declared a proclaimed offender following the former premier allegedly refused to receive non-bailable arrest warrants at his residence in London.
The Registrar of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday issued a written order about the proceedings on the appeal by Sharif in Al-Azizia and Avenfield graft cases, the Dawn News reported.
On October 7, the court recorded the statements of Dildar Ali Abro, the first secretary (consular affairs), and Rao Abdul Hannan, consular attaché, Pakistan High Commission, London, along with Mohammad Mubashir Khan, director for Europe-I, at the Foreign Ministry.
They told the court that efforts were manufactured in compliance with the court orders to effect service of non-bailable warrants of arrest on Sharif to make sure his attendance in the court.
Despite efforts, that service of warrant, issued by the Islamabad High Court on September 15, cannot be effected, they said.
Irked by the attitude of Sharif's representatives at his residence in London, the high court on October 7 ordered that the advertisements be issued in newspapers to summon him.
The court directed the government to bear the cost of the advertisements in the Dawn and Jang newspapers
The federal government later told the court that Rs 60,000 were payed for advertisement in the nominated papers.
The court has asked Sharif to appear before it by November 24 otherwise he'd be designated as a proclaimed offender. The proclamation may cause the confiscation of his properties together with passport.
Sharif has been surviving in London since November last year after he was allowed by the courts and the federal government to go there for an interval of eight weeks for treatment. But he didn't keep coming back, while his legal representatives told the court that he was still recovering.
However, he made a scathing speech on September 20, blaming the military for interference in politics.
Following the speech, pressure is rising on Sharif another to face corruption cases against him.
Source:
TAG(s):