By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court on Thursday granted protective bail to former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in two corruption cases until October 24, paving the way for his return to Pakistan after nearly four years of self-imposed exile.
Sharif, who was ousted by the Supreme Court in 2017 and convicted in absentia in 2018, is expected to arrive in Pakistan on Saturday from London, where he has been living since 2019 for medical treatment on permission from the Lahore High Court.
The Islamabad High Court accepted Sharif’s pleas for protective bail in the Avenfield and Al-Azizia cases, barring the police from arresting him upon his arrival. The court also directed him to appear before it on Oct. 24 to resume his appeals against his convictions in both cases.
Sharif’s lawyers welcomed the court’s ruling and said that he would pursue legal remedies to clear his name and restore his political rights.
They said that he wanted to return to Pakistan to participate in the upcoming general election and clear his name from the corruption allegations.
“He has been granted protective bail. He cannot be arrested on his arrival,” Amjad Pervaiz, one of Sharif’s lawyers, told reporters after the hearing.
Azam Nazir Tarar, another lawyer for Sharif, said that the former prime minister would follow up his appeals in the hope of overturning them and campaigning for his party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
“It is everyone’s constitutional right to freely do political activities,” Tarar said.
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB), the anti-corruption watchdog that had filed the cases against Sharif, did not object to his pleas for protective bail. NAB prosecutor Naeem Sanghera told the court that he had taken directions from the NAB prosecutor general and that NAB had no issue with Sharif’s return.
Sharif was sentenced to 10 years in prison in July 2018 in the Avenfield case, which pertained to his ownership of luxury apartments in London. His daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law Muhammad Safdar were also convicted in the same case, but were acquitted by the Islamabad High Court in September 2022.
In December 2018, Sharif was sentenced to seven years in prison in the Al-Azizia case related to his involvement in a steel mill in Saudi Arabia. He was also fined 1.5 billion rupees ($8.9 million) and $25 million in the case.
The Islamabad High Court declared him a proclaimed offender in both cases in December 2020 after he failed to appear before it despite repeated summons.
Sharif’s return to Pakistan is likely to revive his party’s fortunes ahead of the general election, which is expected to be held in early 2024.
Sharif, who served as prime minister three times, is the leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, one of the main political parties in the country. He had once been a vocal critic of the military establishment, which he accused of orchestrating his ouster and undermining democracy.
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