The Islamabad High Court on Thursday accepted Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) or PML-N PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif’s plea and granted him bail in the Avenfield and Al-Azizia cases until 24 October.
The reprieve comes just ahead of the former prime minister's scheduled return to his homeland on Saturday, 21 October. Sharif will go to Pakistan from Saudi Arabia after over four years of self-imposed exile.
In 2018, an accountability court awarded Sharif 10 years in jail as he owned assets beyond his known income.
He was also asked to serve one year more for not cooperating with National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in the Avenfield properties corruption case.
Both terms were to be served at the same time.
The Al-Azizia Steel Mills corruption matter relates to a case in which Sharif was sentenced to seven years in jail and then taken to Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail.
The Al-Azizia Steel Mills corruption matter relates to a case in which Sharif was sentenced to seven years in jail and then taken to Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail.
Sharif was also slapped with a fine of 1.5 billion Pakistani rupees ($5.3 million).
In 2019, the PML-N chief left for London during his seven-year prison term in the Al-Azizia corruption case on “medical grounds”.
The politician approached the Lahore High Court and got a four-week bail. However, due to his continuous absence from the court proceedings, Sharif was later declared a proclaimed offender in the Al-Azizia and Avenfield graft cases.
Headed by caretaker Prime Minister Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar, Pakistan is set to hold national elections.