Khawaja Haris, the lead counsel for Sharif, filed the petition as well as an appeal against Sharif's conviction in the Al-Azizia reference last week. A two-judge bench headed by IHC Chief Justice Ather Minallah on Monday decided to indefinitely postpone the matter as the petition cannot be heard unless the appeal is set for hearing. The petition will be taken up when a date is set for the hearing of the appeal.
Haris insisted that the court should hear the case as the appeal has been fixed for hearing after the court holidays, which ends tomorrow (Tuesday).
Last week, IHC's Registrar Office had raised some administrative objections to the petition as the legal team submitted it along with over 4,000 documents, including papers in foreign languages. Some documents were not readable due to which the petition was fixed for hearing after a delay.
A defence lawyer on Saturday last removed those objections after which the Registrar's Office fixed the case for a preliminary hearing.
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has also filed appeals in the IHC seeking enhancement of Sharif's sentence from seven to 14 years. Additionally, the watchdog has challenged Sharif's acquittal in the Flagship Investment reference.
Accountability Court Judge Mohammad Bashir had convicted Sharif in the Avenfield reference and sentenced him to 10 years in prison.
However, an IHC division bench comprising Chief Justice Minallah and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb suspended the sentence in the Avenfield reference.
The NAB has filed an appeal against the suspension of sentence, which is pending adjudication before the Supreme Court.