IHC summons Nawaz Sharif through newspaper advertisements after arrest warrants not received

The Islamabad High Court on Wednesday summoned former prime minister Nawaz Sharif through newspaper advertisements after arrest warrants against the PML-N supremo were not received by his representatives in London.

It directed the federal government to bear the cost of the advertisements and the additional attorney general was asked to pay the fees within two days.

Earlier in the day, officials posted at the Pakistani High Commission in the United Kingdom informed IHC that a representative of Nawaz Sharif had initially agreed to receive the arrest warrants against the PML-N supremo, but changed his mind minutes before their arrival to the former prime minister's Park Lane residence.

In a written reply submitted to the court, First Secretary of the High Commission Dildar Ali Abro said that Waqar Ahmed, a secretary to Nawaz Sharif’s son, called him and informed him that he will receive the warrants for the former prime minister.

Abro told the court that Waqar initially agreed to receive the warrants at Nawaz Sharif's Park Lane residence in London. He then informed the High Commission of Waqar’s response, adding that the mission then allowed him to serve the warrants at the address.

“It was agreed with Waqar that he would receive the warrants on September 23 at 11am,” Abro told the court. He added that Waqar was also informed that the mission’s Consular Attache Rao Abdul Hanan would hand over the warrants.

“At 10:20am Waqar called me to apologise and declined to receive the warrants,” Abro told the court.

On the other hand, Hanan, in his statement, said that he had initially gone to the residence of the former premier on September 17 at 6:35pm to serve the warrants. He added that a domestic employee of Nawaz Sharif, Muhammad Yaqoob, had declined to receive the warrants, which is why the warrant could not be delivered to the former premier.