The Islamabad High Court has fixed former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s plea against the conviction in the Al-Azizia reference for hearing.

A two-member bench comprising IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hasan Aurangzeb would hear the case.

The Al-Azizia Steel Mills corruption reference pertained to a case in which the PML-N supremo was sentenced to seven years in jail on Dec 24, 2018. He was also fined Rs1.5 billion and $25 million.

The development comes two days after the PML-N supremo got major relief, rekindling his hopes for a fourth stint as the prime minister.

On Wednesday, the IHC acquitted Nawaz in the Avenfield reference.

An accountability court had handed the PML-N leader 10 years in jail in the Avenfield properties corruption reference for owning assets beyond known income and one year for not cooperating with the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in July 2018.

In December 2020, the IHC declared him a proclaimed offender in the case. Nawaz left the country for London for medical reasons, spent almost four years there, and returned home last month.