Former Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif sentenced to 10 years in prison on corruption charges
The Sharif clan and their supporters have repeatedly denied the allegations of corruption, suggesting Nawaz is the victim of a conspiracy driven by the powerful military
Pakistan’s former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was sentenced in absentia to 10 years in prison by a corruption court in Islamabad Friday, lawyers said, dealing a serious blow to his party’s troubled campaign ahead of July 25 elections.
Sharif was ousted from his third term as prime minister by the Supreme Court last year following a corruption investigation.
“[Sharif] has been awarded 10 years imprisonment and an £8 million (US$10 million) fine” over the purchase of high-end properties in London, defence lawyer Mohammad Aurangzeb said.
Prosecution lawyer Sardar Muzaffar Abbas also said that the court had ordered the properties, in London’s exclusive Mayfair, be confiscated by the federal government.
Sharif is currently in London, where his wife is receiving medical treatment for cancer. The verdict immediately raised questions over whether he would return to Pakistan, with analysts saying he was in a “difficult position” ahead of the election.
“If Sharif does not come back, his party is over,” said political analyst Rasool Bukhsh Rais. “If he comes back, he will have to fight cases and he will be suffering a lot – but in this way he will save his party.”
