The corruption appeals of Nawaz Sharif have been delayed until Wednesday.

In 2018, Nawaz Sharif received a 10-year jail term in the Avenfield properties case for possessing assets beyond known income, and an additional one-year sentence for non-cooperation with the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). He also faced a seven-year jail term in the Al-Azizia case. In December 2020, the Islamabad High Court declared him a proclaimed offender in both cases when he left for London on medical grounds, only to return to Pakistan last month.

In July 2021, Sharif filed applications for the reinstatement of his appeals against convictions in both cases. The Islamabad High Court restored the appeals in November 2021.

The recent hearing at the IHC, presided over by Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb, featured arguments from Sharif's lawyer, Amjad Pervaiz. Pervaiz highlighted facts predating the reference filing and subsequent events, referencing the Supreme Court's decision in the Panama Papers case that led to Nawaz's disqualification.

Justice Aurangzeb questioned the relevance of Pervaiz's arguments, prompting the lawyer to provide details about the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) formed in response to the Supreme Court's verdict. Pervaiz disclosed that the JIT submitted a comprehensive 12-volume report to the apex court in July 2017.

The court's final verdict on July 28, 2017, led to Nawaz's disqualification. Justice Aurangzeb sought clarity on the specific orders issued by the Supreme Court, particularly whether directives were given to the NAB chairman. Pervaiz affirmed explicit instructions from the Supreme Court for NAB to file references against Nawaz and his family.

The discussion delved into the timeline between the Supreme Court's order and NAB's filing of references. Pervaiz confirmed that all three references were filed in September 2017, with Nawaz absent from the country at the time.

Regarding the indictment of the suspects, Justice Farooq sought clarification on whether it applied only to the Avenfield reference or extended to all three cases. Pervaiz explained that the indictment occurred in all three cases on the same day, but separate proceedings were conducted later.

Pervaiz revealed that the prosecution had withheld a copy of volume 10 of the JIT report, surprising the chief justice. Despite acknowledging Nawaz's acquittal in the Flagship reference, Justice Aurangzeb inquired about NAB's appeal status, to which the NAB prosecutor confirmed an appeal had been filed but not yet scheduled.

Pervaiz criticized NAB for relying solely on the JIT report and questioned whether the bureau had exercised independent judgment. He argued that NAB's actions were limited to issuing a call-up notice to Nawaz and criticized the lack of concrete evidence beyond witness statements.

Justice Aurangzeb expressed skepticism, questioning whether NAB had conducted an independent investigation, to which Pervaiz asserted that NAB's actions were confined to the call-up notice and criticized the absence of substantial evidence beyond witness statements.