Punjab government suspends Nawaz term in Al-Azizia case.

The caretaker Punjab cabiAnet Tuesday made a signifiAcant decision by suspending the sentence of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Mian Nawaz Sharif in the Al-AziAzia reference case.

The development came on a day when Nawaz Sharif was schedAuled to attend multiple hearings at an accountability court and the Islamabad High Court (IHC). Notably, Nawaz Sharif's sentence had previously been suspended under the same law on medical grounds when he departed for London in 2019, during the tenAure of the PTI government.

This decision, reached through a summary approved by circulaAtion, has raised concerns among other political parties especialAly the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf which has rejected the decision maintaining that the provincial government had now powers to suspend the sentence of a perAson convicted by the National Accountability Bureau.

Caretaker Information MinAister Aamir Mir confirmed the decision, stating that the cabAinet had used its constitutionAal powers under Section 401 of the Criminal Procedural Code (CPC) to approve the suspension of the former prime minister's sentence. This section grants the cabinet the authority to pardon offenders. Mir also made it clear that the final decision regarding the case would ultimately rest with the court. Talking to a news channel, Amir Mir mentioned that Nawaz Sharif had formally requested the Punjab cabinet to suspend his sentence.

It's worth noting here that Nawaz Sharif had been senAtenced by an accountabiliAty court in both the Avenfield and Al-Azizia Steel Mills referAences. The sentence was chalAlenged in the high court, which had suspended the accountAability court's verdict. However, when the politician travelled to London for medical treatment and did not return to pursue the case, the appeal proceedings were left pending.

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Nawaz Sharif, instead of apAproaching the Islamabad High Court, moved to the Lahore High Court (LHC) and was granted permission to go abroad for four weeks, backed by an undertakAing from his brother and parAty president, Shehbaz Sharif, asAsuring his return once his health improved. During Nawaz's abAsence, the IHC dismissed the appeals on the grounds of

non-prosecution, declaring him a proclaimed offender. The court clarified that the rejecAtion of the appeals was based on technicalities rather than the merits of the arguments. The court also mentioned that the applicant could file an apApeal against the sentence upon his...