The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has reinstated the appeals of PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif against his conviction in the Avenfield Apartments and Al-Azizia references. The verdict was announced by a division bench consisting of Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb. The bench issued the verdict while hearing Nawaz’s pleas for protective bail and for restoring his appeals. In July 2018, Nawaz was sentenced to 10 years in jail in the Avenfield properties corruption reference and one year for not cooperating with the NAB. The Al-Azizia Steel Mills corruption reference led to a seven-year jail term and hefty fines. After being released from jail in March 2019, Nawaz left for London in November 2019 on medical grounds. The IHC declared him a proclaimed offender in both cases in December 2020. Nawaz returned to Pakistan earlier this month and was granted protective bail. During the court proceedings, NAB Prosecutor General Ehtesham Qadir Shah stated that the watchdog’s chairman had been directed to provide an opinion on the bail pleas. The court reserved the verdict on the petitions after hearing arguments from both sides.