Islamabad HC orders release of ex-PM Nawaz Sharif, daughter and son-in-law
19 Sep 2018
The Islamabad High Court has suspended the jail sentence against former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter, and son-in-law, and ordered their immediate release, local media reports said.
Sharif, his daughter Maryam and his son-in-law Muhammad Safdar were convicted in July by an anti-corruption court of not being able to prove the source of assets used to buy a set of upmarket London flats.
Sharif and the other two who had been sentenced to 10 years in jail on corruption charges by an anti-corruption court earlier this year, are expected to be released after the payment of a bail bond.
The Islamabad High Court judge Athar Minallah ruled that the National Accountability Bureau, Pakistan's anti-corruption watchdog, was unable to prove a financial link between the former prime minister and the apartments in question.
A two-member bench, led by Minallah, suspended the jail sentences while hearing the Sharifs' appeal against their convictions
Their convictions will stand, although their sentences have been suspended.
Sharif had been sentenced to 10 years in jail and a $10.5m fine, his daughter Maryam to a seven-year jail sentence and a $2.6m fine, and Maryam's husband Safdar to a year in prison.
Sharif remains barred from running for public office for life, after the Supreme Court in April ruled that he had lied on a parliamentary wealth declaration and that the disqualification from that crime would last for an indefinite period.
Sharif, his daughter, and his son-in-law will now each have to pay 500,000 Pakistani rupees (roughly $4,000) in separate surety bonds before their release.
Hamza Shehbaz, Nawaz Sharif's nephew, said the family was thankful for the ruling.
"Today is a happy day that our leader will be released from jail. We are thankful to Allah. As I said earlier, this verdict from the anti-corruption court, it was clear that there was no corruption proved against Nawaz Sharif. Hopefully, we will show that there is nothing to this case."
"Today's fundamental news is that the verdict by the anti-corruption court against Nawaz Sharif was very weak, and ... hopefully, we will continue our legal battle against all the other cases."
A crowd of hundreds of Sharif's supporters had gathered at the court ahead of the verdict and raised slogans praising him following the announcement of the suspension of the sentence.
The National Accountability Bureau is expected to appeal the Islamabad High Court's verdict at the Supreme Court.
Hearings in two other corruption cases against Sharif and his family are continuing at an anti-corruption court.