The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday adjourned the hearing of an application filed by ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif for the transfer of accountability references without much progress in the case.

The two-member bench — comprising Justice Amir Farooq and Justice Mian Gul Hassan — adjourned the hearing till August 2, when Sharif's lawyer Khwaja Haris will further his arguments regarding the transfer of Al-Azizya and Flagship references from the court of Accountability Judge Mohammad Bashir.

Due to the longevity of arguments presented by Khwaja Haris, the bail applications filed by Maryam and Safdar have not been taken up yet.

Haris said the accountability court has announced the verdict in Avenfield reference case, while Al-Azizya and Flagship references are pending before the court. "Our defence in all three cases is quite similar and the legal arguments are also the same," he said.

"The court has already commented that mostly the children are dependent on their parents, how can they hear the same matter again," Haris questioned.

On this, Justice Hassan asked whether there was any precedent about transferring of cases under similar circumstances. The counsel replied saying there wasn't any such precedent and this was a unique case, however, a few somewhat similar cases do exist.

Justice Farooq asked that if the cases have been transferred to another court, and if they be taken up from their current standing. Haris replied to this in positive, saying the cases will continue normally.

Following this, the hearing was adjourned till August 2.

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