Pakistan interim govt suspends Nawaz Sharif's sentence in Al-Azizia case

Pakistan's caretaker government in Punjab has suspended the sentence of the country's former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in the in Al-Azizia reference, Geo News reported on Tuesday.

According to the Pakistan-based media outlet, information minister Aamir Mir confirmed the Punjab cabinet's decision, saying the decision was taken while exercising its constitutional powers under Section 401 of the criminal procedural code (CPC), which also authorises it to pardon any offender.

The approval was given through a circulation summary. "The final decision of the case will be taken by the court itself," he added.

The development comes on the day when Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Sharif is scheduled to attend multiple hearings at an accountability court at the Federal Judicial Complex (FJC) and the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

Ahead of the Sharif's visit to court, security measures were put in place as the bomb disposal squad completely emptied the courtroom and searched it for security purposes.

As per The News International, heavy security has been deployed both inside and outside the Federal judicial complex in the capital where the hearing of the Toshkhana case will take place.

In the hearing, only relevant lawyers and media personnel will be allowed to enter the accountability court.

The court has, meanwhile, suspended the PML-N supremo's permanent warrant in the case to date. According to the court's decision, if Nawaz does not appear before the judge today, the warrant against him will be restored.

Pakistan People's Party Co-chairman Asif Zardari and Senator Yusuf Raza Gilani are also co-accused in the same case.

Nawaz is being represented by his counsel Qazi Misbah in the case, who has filed three different applications in the accountability court on his behalf which include the restoration of the PML-N supremo's annexed property in the case; appointment of Nawaz's pleader in the case; and an application to submit the politician's bail bonds, The News International reported.

Meanwhile, Zardari's lawyer and senior PPP leader Farooq H Naek appeared in the court on behalf of his client to seek an exemption from attending the hearing.

According to The News International, Nawaz, was granted protective bail in two graft cases while his arrest warrant in the Toshakhana case was suspended by an accountability court on Thursday, two days before his return to Pakistan on October 21 after spending four years of self-imposed exile in London.