2-member bench constituted to hear Sharif's appeal

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has constituted a two-member bench to hear an appeal filed by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif against his conviction in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills corruption case.

The bench, consisting of Justice Aamir Farooq and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, will hear the appeal on September 18, Dawn news reported on Tuesday.

This will be the first hearing of Sharif's appeal since the controversy regarding the leaked video of Accountability Judge Arshad Malik surfaced in July.

The video purportedly showed Malik 'confessing' that he had convicted Sharif under duress.

Malik, who was removed from his position after the leak, was the author of verdicts in the Al Azizia and Flagship cases on December 24, 2018.

He convicted Sharif in the Al-Azizia case, but acquitted him in the other.

The Supreme Court disqualified Sharif from holding any public office in July 2017 and ordered the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to file three references against the Sharif family.

Earlier, the apex court had constituted a six-member joint investigation team (JIT), comprising officials of the Federal Investigation Agency, NAB, Inter-Services Intelligence, Military Intelligence, Securities and Exchange Commission and the State Bank.

Accountability judge Mohammad Bashir convicted Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz in the Avenfield properties reference on July 6 last year. The IHC, however, suspended the sentence.

The three-time Prime Minister is currently imprisoned in Lahore's Kot Lakhpat jail.