Islamabad, Sep 26 (IANS): An accountability court in Islamabad allowed former Prime Minsiter Nawaz Sharif to leave after he briefly appeared before the court on Tuesday for hearing of references filed against him by the National Accountability Bureau.

According to Geo News, the former Prime Minister was allowed to leave after he informed the court his wife is not well.

A number of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders, including federal ministers, accompanied the Sharif, for his first appearance before the accountability court, which had summoned him after his failure to appear at an earlier hearing on September 19.

Sharif returned to Pakistan on Monday after spending more than three weeks in London and went straight into several consultation sessions with party leaders about his future plans.

He left for London on August 30 days after his wife, Kulsoom Nawaz, was diagnosed with lymph node cancer. Since then, she had undergone three surgeries in the British capital, with Sharif and their sons beside her.