Pakistan: Nawaz Sharif's lawyer Khawaja Haris likely to file plea for interim relief in Avenfield corruption case on Monday

Nawaz Sharif’s lawyer Khawaja Haris will apply for interim relief on Monday for suspension of sentence in the Avenfield corruption case, in which the former Pakistan prime minister and his daughter Maryam have been convicted and are currently lodged in Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail. According to Pakistani TV channel, _ Waqt News, S_harif’s legal counsel will file an appeal on Monday against the decision of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), which sentenced the former Pakistan prime minister and his daughter to 10 years and seven years imprisonment, respectively. Haris has already filed an appeal against the verdict resulting in their conviction, which will remain intact till the decision of the main appeal. [caption id=“attachment_4731581” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Former Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif with daughter Maryam at Abu Dhabi international airport. Twitter@MaryamNSharif[/caption] Late Friday night, Sharif and his daughter Maryam, were arrested minutes after landing in the country on Friday as they returned seeking to revitalise their flagging party ahead of the 25 July general election. Their flight Etihad Airways’ EY243 landed at Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport at 9.15 pm IST, nearly three hours later than the scheduled arrival. On late Friday night, Pakistan’s Ministry of Law and Justice said the trial in the remaining two corruption cases against the PML-N supremo and his family will be conducted in the Adiala jail in Rawalpindi, where the duo is currently lodged. On 6 July, the NAB sentenced Sharif, his daughter Maryam and son-in-law Captain (retired) Mohammad Safdar to jail in the Avenfield properties case, one of the three corruption cases against Sharif following the Panama Papers scandal. The case was regarding the Sharifs owning four apartments in the posh Mayfair area in London. The family is now facing two more corruption cases in the accountability court — Al-Azizia Steel Mills and Flagship Investments — in which they are accused of money laundering, tax evasion and hiding offshore assets. On Thursday, NAB dismissed Sharif's petition to transfer the remaining two corruption cases against him to another accountability court. Judge Muhammad Bashir of the Islamabad Accountability Court stated that after passing the judgment and framing charges on members of the Sharif family, he can not recuse himself from the case. With inputs from agencies