The Islamabad High Court quashed a corruption conviction against former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who returned from exile last month to return to the political scene on Wednesday, November 29. Nawaz Sharif, who served as Pakistan’s three-time prime minister, is currently on bail after appealing his corruption convictions in a bid to be cleared and ahead of February’s parliamentary elections.
“I left all questions in the hands of Allah and Allah has honored me today”, declared Nawaz Sharif to the press, leaving the Islamabad High Court. This court decision was handed down in a case relating to luxurious real estate purchased by his family. This case resulted in him being dismissed from his post as prime minister for corruption by the Supreme Court in 2017, then sentenced to ten years in prison in 2018. He is still awaiting the result of his appeal in another corruption case, linked to investments in steel companies.
Nawaz Sharif was jailed for ten months
Nawaz Sharif, who never completed any of his mandates, has always denied any wrongdoing, denouncing a plot by the army aimed at promoting the electoral victory of Imran Khan, who had become prime minister. A central figure in Pakistani political life for three decades, Mr. Sharif, 73, was imprisoned for ten months before being released on medical parole and going to London for treatment in November 2019.
Some political analysts believe he has struck a deal with army chiefs, and could well bring his party, the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N), back to power. Imran Khan, the country’s most popular politician, is unlikely to be able to lead his party into the next elections. He has been incarcerated since August, faces a slew of charges and has been declared ineligible for five years.
Mr. Khan, 71, driven from power by a motion of censure in April 2022, believes that the proceedings against him are motivated by political considerations aimed at preventing him from running again and in turn accuses the army of be the cause of his legal troubles.