Nawaz Sharif's immediate return to Pakistan poses 'risk of losing life', says lawyer

FORMER Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday (9) filed a petition in the Islamabad High Court (IHC), stating that his health condition would not allow him to return home from London and surrender in a corruption case by September 10, according to a media report.

Last week, the IHC had given him a "last chance" to "surrender" and appear before it on September 10 for hearing in a corruption case, warning of legal action for absconding.

Sharif, 70, has been in London since November last year after the Lahore High Court granted him permission to go abroad for four weeks for treating a heart disease and an immune system disorder.

The three-time premier had earlier been sentenced to seven years in a graft case linked to Al-Azizia Steel Mills.

Nawaz's lawyer, Khawaja Haris Ahmed, filed the review petition on Wednesday and submitted the former premier's latest medical files attested by London-based consultant cardiothoracic surgeon Dr David Lawrence, The Dawn newspaper reported.

"The fact of the matter is that [Nawaz] is still suffering from multiple comorbidities [and] his treatment in London has been delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic," Ahmed said in the petition, adding that returning to Pakistan now could be "fatal" for the PML-N supremo.

"All the doctors that have treated him in the past, as well as those who have been treating him since his arrival in London, have strongly advised him not to travel to Pakistan without getting his treatment done."

The petition pointed out that an appeal under Section 423 of the Code of Criminal Procedure decides guilt or innocence and that there was no need for Sharif to be present physically.

"By no stretch of the imagination does the said provision of law insist upon the presence of the appellant before the court, even if such a presence would expose him to the risk of losing his life," said Ahmed.

The petition urged the court to forgo the former premier's surrender.   The Pakistan government had already declared Sharif an "absconder", and approached the UK government for his extradition.

Adviser to Pakistan prime minister on accountability and interior affairs Shahzad Akbar last month said Sharif's four-week bail on medical grounds had expired in December last year.

He added the government would task the National Accountability Bureau to pursue Sharif's extradition

In May, a picture of Sharif having tea at a London cafe along with his family had gone viral on social media, sparking a debate on the seriousness of his health condition.

The government came under further criticism when last week Sharif's photos surfaced online, showing him strolling in a street, prompting calls from within the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf to bring him back.