Pak SC to hear plea against suspension of Sharifs' jail term in corruption case on Wednesday

Pakistan's Supreme Court will hear on Wednesday a petition filed by the country's anti-graft body challenging the suspension of the sentences of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter and son-in-law in a corruption case.

Chief Justice Saqib Nisar on Tuesday constituted a three-member bench headed by him to hear the National Accountability Bureau's (NAB) plea challenging the September 19 Islamabad High Court (IHC) order suspending the jail sentences of Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law retired captain Mohammad Safdar in the Avenfield corruption case, Dawn newspaper reported.

The NAB filed the petition in the apex court on Monday challenging an earlier decision by the IHC suspending the sentences given to the trio by an anti-corruption court.

In its petition, the accountability bureau asked for the September 19 decision by IHC to be declared null and void.

The NAB contended that the "IHC had failed to appreciate that through its order, it had seriously prejudiced the case of the prosecution by holding that the trial court judgement suffered from obvious and glaring defects and infirmities and that the convictions and sentences handed down to the accused might not be sustained ultimately."