Pakistan: Exiled former PM Nawaz Sharif gets bail ahead of his return this week
Nawaz Sharif
A Pakistani court on Thursday granted bail to the country’s exiled former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, clearing legal hurdles ahead of his potential return to the South Asian nation.
Sharif’s lawyer announced that Sharif “cannot be arrested on his arrival” now.
"The honourable Islamabad High Court has granted Nawaz Sharif protective bail until October 24," Amjad Pervaiz, Sharif's lawyer, was quoted as saying by AFP.
Sharif is hoping to lead his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party again before the January 2024 general elections, even as his prime opponent and former PM Imran Khan languishes in jail.
The 73-year-old politician is set to return to Pakistan on Saturday (Oct 21), ending his four-year-long self-imposed exile in UK.
His legal team had earlier applied for protective bail in the Islamabad High Court.
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How Sharif ended up in London?
In 2017, he stepped down from his PM position due to the conviction in a corruption case. Two years later, while facing more corruption charges, he cited chest pains and received permission from his successor, Imran Khan, to travel to London for medical treatment. In 2019, he extended his stay in London, citing advice from his doctors.
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Since 2020, Pakistani authorities have been pursuing the PML-N leader, issuing a warrant for his arrest when he didn't return from London. Sharif is now preparing to end his self-imposed exile of nearly four years, most of which was spent in London. Recently, he travelled to Saudi Arabia. Now heplans to fly to Dubai before returning to Pakistan on Saturday.
Sharif's sentence
In 2018, Sharif was sentenced to 10 years in prison for the Avenfield Properties corruption case, involving assets exceeding his declared income. He also received a concurrent one-year sentence for not cooperating with the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Pakistan's prime anti-graft agency.
Furthermore, the Al-Azizia Steel Mills corruption case resulted in a seven-year prison term, with Sharif being incarcerated in Rawalpindi's Adiala Jail. He was fined 1.5 billion Pakistani Rupees and ordered to pay US $25 million in this case.
(With inputs from agencies)
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