Sharif exempted from court appearance

Lahore: A Lahore-based accountability court has accepted former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s petition seeking exemption from appearing before it in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills(CSM) corruption case on medical grounds.
While addressing the media on Friday, Sharif’s lawyer Amjad Pervaiz said that a new medical certificate had been submitted to the court, reports The Express Tribune.
“Nawaz Sharif is under clinical supervision,” the counsel said, adding: “He will undergo a medical examination which is scheduled to take place in the last week of February.”
In light of the scheduled procedures, Sharif was not fit to travel to Pakistan, Pervaiz said, adding the former leader “will face trial when he recovers”.
After reviewing the medical certificate, the court exempted the former premier from appearing before it and adjourned the hearing till February 28.
Sharif was on November 4 last year granted bail on humanitarian grounds by the Lahore High Court in the case.
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has accused Sharif of being a direct beneficiary of Chaudhry Sugar Mills and his daughter, Maryam, who was arrested in connection with the case in August along with her cousin Yousuf Abbas, of holding over 12 million shares in the sugar mills.
Sharif left for London on November 19 in an air ambulance to seek medical treatment.
Earlier in January, the Punjab province government rejected Sharif’s medical report claiming it was prepared by a private UK doctor instead of his general physician in London.
Sharif, who is serving a seven-year jail term, was granted bail and later allowed to go abroad particularly for the treatment of the ailment responsible for the constant drop in his platelet count. (Agencies)