The IHC Overturns Maryam And Capt Safdar's 2018 Conviction In The Avenfield Case

PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz & her partner Captain (retd) Safdar were cleared of all charges in the Avenfield properties fraud reference four years after their conviction, just after Islamabad High Court (IHC) overruled the July 2018 verdict on Thursday.

The court stated in a brief order, a duplicate of which is available to Dawn.com, that "the immediate appeal is permitted and the decision dated July 6, 2018, is set aside for reasons to be recorded later."

It went on to say that Maryam and Captain Safdar's convictions had been overturned and that they had been exonerated of the fees in the reference. 

Outside of the court, the PML-N leader praised the verdict and declared Mian Nawaz Sharif vindicated.

Separately, Prime Minister Shehbaz said the "edifice of lies, slander, and personal attacks" had crumbled.

Maryam's acquittal in the Avenfield case is a slap in the face to the ostensibly accountable system that was used to attack the Sharif family." "I'd like to congratulate Maryam Beti and Safdar, he said.

The verdict, according to lawyer Maryam Ali Abbasi, is "quite damning" for the accountability watchdog, which is "already starting to move towards increased regulation or redundancy."

In an interview with Dawn.com, lawyer Mirza Moiz Baig stated that a person who has been found guilty of a crime encompassing corruption or moral depravity is disqualified from standing for election unless a timeframe of five years has elapsed since their release.

While the Supreme Court has held in the particular instance of Samiullah Baloch that a recusal under Article 62(1)(f) is permanent, an exclusion under Article 63(1)(g) is not," he explained.

Unlike her father, Maryam Nawaz was never proclaimed to fall short of the standard enshrined in Article 62(1)." (f). On the opposite, the only impediment to her running for office is a lack of funds.

The high court's decision may thus open the path for Maryam Nawaz's formal entry into electoral politics, he concluded.

Meanwhile, lawyer Basil Nabi Malik stated that the conviction should not have come as a surprise to anyone.

From the start, there were serious concerns about the way, medium, and method of obtaining the conviction," he told Dawn.com.

However, while correct, this overruling would be seen by many as a symbol of changing times, rather than any real achievement of justice, he said, trying to add that such was the level of politicization in the country.

Today's hearing was presided over by a two-member bench comprising Justice Aamer Farooq & Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, wherein the court heard arguments both ways.

Maryam's lawyer, Amjad Pervaiz, and NAB prosecutor, Sardar Muzaffar Abbasi, popped up before the court at the start of the hearing.

Usman Cheema introduced the arguments at the previous hearing, but he is not starting to feel well today," the bureau's lawyer told the court. He then requested permission from the bench to present arguments.

During today's hearing, Justice Kiyani stated that the investigating officer's opinion could not be considered evidence. The joint investigative committee did not show any facts; it simply gathered information, he pointed out.