In a relief to jailed former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the Supreme Court on Monday dismissed the anti-graft body’s appeal against the suspension of his jail sentence and that of his family in one of three corruption cases faced by the embattled leader.
In July 2018, an accountability court here handed Sharif 10 years as jail time for owning assets beyond known income and 1 year for not cooperating with the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
A five-member bench led by Chief Justice Saqib Nisar upheld the Islamabad High Court’s verdict that ordered suspension of prison sentences awarded to Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law Captain (retd) Mohammad Safdar in the Avenfield corruption case related to their purchase of four luxury flats in London through corrupt practices.
The apex court, in its ruling, said that the NAB has failed to provide the “ground for cancellation of bail” and that the IHC had not exceeded its authority in granting bail to the convicts of the Avenfield case. The 69-year-old three-time former prime minister and his family have denied any wrongdoing. Sharif is currently in jail after an anti-corruption court sentenced him on December 24 to seven years in jail in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills graft case while acquitting him in the Flagship Investments corruption case in the Panama Papers scandal.