NEW DELHI: In a major relief for former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) delivered a verdict on Wednesday exonerating the PML-N leader in the Avenfield case, the Dawn reported.

The development likely paves the way for Sharif to contest in the upcoming elections.

In July 2018, Nawaz Sharif had received a 10-year prison sentence in the Avenfield properties corruption case for possessing assets beyond his known income, along with an additional one-year term for non-cooperation with the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).Both sentences were to be served concurrently.The Al-Azizia Steel Mills corruption reference, for which Nawaz Sharif was sentenced to seven years in jail on December 24, 2018, also imposed a fine of Rs1.5 billion and US$25 million.In December 2020, the IHC had declared him a proclaimed offender in both cases.

Nawaz Sharif, who had spent almost four years in London for medical reasons, returned to Pakistan last month.Upon his return, the PML-N leader filed two separate applications seeking the revival of his appeals against the convictions in both references.

He argued that while he was abroad for medical treatment, the pending appeals were dismissed for non-prosecution.

The IHC had restored the appeals in the previous month.During the recent hearing, Nawaz's counsel, Amjad Pervaiz, highlighted discrepancies in the Avenfield reference.

He pointed out that the Supreme Court's constraints had left the National Accountability Bureau with no alternative but to file the references.

Pervaiz argued that the outcome would have been different if the anti-corruption watchdog had been allowed to act independently.

He contended that the bureau attempted to address shortcomings by filing a supplementary reference, a step that was not permissible according to several judgments of superior courts, according to the Dawn.Ahead of the hearing, Nawaz Sharif arrived in court under tight security, accompanied by senior PML-N leaders including Marriyum Aurangzeb, Javed Latif, Ahsan Iqbal, and others.