On Wednesday, A Pakistani court ordered the release from jail of ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter, suspending prison sentences a lower court handed down in July over the purchase of upscale apartments in London.
Sharif’s supporters cheered as the Islamabad High Court suspended the 10-year jail term of the three-time premier, who was once the favorite of Pakistan’s powerful generals but has since fallen out and clashed with the military.
The ruling comes almost two months after Sharif’s party lost a general election to the party of new Prime Minister Imran Khan. Sharif’s party and others allege the July 25 polls were rigged to favor Khan, seen to be close to the army.
“The prosecution has failed to show the properties belong to Nawaz Sharif,” Justice Athar Minallah told the court. “It also failed to prove how was Maryam Nawaz sentenced under the same charge sheet which convicted Nawaz Sharif.”
The convictions are still under appeal with the same Islamabad High Court, but the judge said they should be freed immediately while the case continues.
“Justice has been served, and I congratulate Nawaz Sharif’s supporters,” former Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif, a staunch Sharif ally, said outside the courtroom, where supporters chanted pro-Sharif slogans.
