Former Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif has been acquitted in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills corruption case by the Islamabad High Court (IHC).
The court purportely declared his sentence null and void.
According to reports, a two-member IHC bench comprising Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Mian Gul Hassan Aurangzeb heard the case.
The prosecution team of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), as well as the defense from PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif and his counsel Amjad Pervaiz, were present in the courtroom.
Overall security arrangements were stepped up in and around the court, the reports said, adding that several pro-PML-N lawyers were also present in the court premises, while the party supporters were present outside the court in large numbers.
During the previous hearing, the court had decided to consider the former prime minister's appeal against conviction in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills case “on merit” as it rejected NAB's prayer to send the case back to a trial court.
On December 24, 2018, Islamabad Accountability Court-II Judge Arshad Malik convicted Sharif in the Al-Azizia case and sentenced him to seven years in prison with a fine of $2.5 million.
The PML-N chief was acquitted by Malik only in the flagship case. The judge had, however, got into controversies after some videos emerged in July 2019 showing him allegedly confessing to a PML-N leader that he convicted Nawaz “under duress.”
According to the reports, a Supreme Court bench had ordered action against Malik in August 2019. Following which the Lahore High Court (LHC) sacked the judge for misconduct in July 2020.