The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has restored the pleas of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Nawaz Sharif, seeking the revival of appeals against his sentences in the Avenfield and Al-Azizia references. The IHC bench heard the plea, and the National Accountability Court (NAB) raised no objections to restoring the appeals. During the hearing, Nawaz Sharif appeared before the court along with his brother Shehbaz Sharif and other party leaders. NAB Prosecutor General Ehtesham Qadir Shah stated that the Avenfield reference could potentially be withdrawn if the verdict had not been announced but mentioned that the reference had been filed following Supreme Court directives and had received approval from the NAB chairman. The court reserved the verdict on the petitions.
Nawaz Sharif was previously convicted in the Avenfield and Al-Azizia cases and had been sentenced to jail. His sentence in the Al-Azizia reference was suspended in 2019 on medical grounds, allowing him to travel to London for medical treatment. He recently returned to Pakistan after four years in self-exile and was welcomed by the PML-N.