A Pakistani court on October 24 extended protection from arrest to former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in graft cases following his return to Islamabad after four years of self-imposed exile in London.
Sharif appeared at the Islamabad High Court and before the anti-graft tribunal to appeal his convictions in three corruption cases in a bid to clear his name prior to parliamentary elections due in January.
The high court, where Sharif is appealing two convictions, extended his bail until October 26, said Sharif’s lawyer, Azam Nazeer Tarar.
A lawyer for the National Accountability Agency (NAB) told the court that NAB had no objection to Sharif's bail extension.
Sharif, 73, appeared earlier before the accountability court, which also approved his bail and postponed the hearing in a separate case before that tribunal to November 20.
Another lawyer for Sharif, Amjad Parvez, filed petitions on October 23 requesting that the appeals against his sentences in the cases be reinstated.
The court previously rejected Sharif's appeals because he was not in Pakistan.
Sharif returned to Pakistan on October 21 to lead the election campaign for his Pakistan Muslim League party ahead of the January elections. He has promised to work toward an economic recovery in Pakistan, which is grappling with a severe economic crisis that has seen living standards plunge rapidly.
Sharif's return from London came four years after he left to seek medical treatment in the United Kingdom. He had been granted permission to travel to London on condition that he return and complete his prison term. He defied that agreement and was declared a fugitive.
Sharif stepped down as prime minister in 2017 after being convicted and sentenced to 14 years in prison for graft. Upon his conviction Sharif was banned for life from running in elections and remains ineligible to run for parliament. But the government led by his brother, Shebhaz Sharif, who was prime minister from April 2022 until August 2023, amended the legislation, limiting the disqualification period to five years.
Sharif’s convictions came after his successor, Prime Minister Imran Khan, vowed to tackle endemic graft.
Khan is now imprisoned on corruption charges and serving a three-year sentence. Khan, leader of the Pakistan Tehrik-e Insaf (PTI) party, was ousted in a no-confidence vote in April 2022 but is still Pakistan’s leading opposition figure.
The Pakistan Muslim League and Khan's PTI are seen as the main competitors in the upcoming elections.
Legal scholar and Balochistan High Court lawyer Humayun Kasi told RFE/RL that, in his opinion, Sharif has been given full confidence to return. Sharif also knows that the establishment needs him now, he said, adding that Arab countries also like Sharif.
