(MENAFN- Gulf Times)
Pakistan's ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif appeared in court yesterday, a day after returning from overseas to face corruption allegations that saw him ejected from office and targeted with an arrest warrant.
In a brief hearing in Islamabad, Sharif paid two surety bonds of Rs5mn ($48,000) each before leaving under tight security, his lawyer Khawaja Haris said.
The court is set to reconvene on November 7.
The former premier, who was forced out by the Supreme Court in July over a scandal kindled by the Panama Papers leak, had been facing an arrest warrant for failing to appear at hearings since early October.
He has spent most of the time since in London, where his wife is receiving treatment for cancer. He arrived in Islamabad on Thursday.
Sharif became the 15th premier in Pakistan's 70-year history to be ousted before completing a full term, after the corruption investigation against him.
The claims against the prime minister stemmed from the Panama Papers leak last year, which sparked a media frenzy over the luxurious lifestyles and high-end London property portfolio owned by his family.
Sharif and his supporters have denied the allegations and hinted at a political conspiracy driven by the powerful military.
'I am going to Pakistan despite (my wife's) chemotherapy to appear in a bogus case, he told media in London before
departing.
'Pakistan's system has contradictions ... all this must be changed, now is the time to change it.
He said nothing to media outside the court in Islamabad, but his son-in-law Muhammad Safdar also hinted at a
conspiracy.
'Till the time the courts are... free from the fear of some other people, I can't expect any fair trial from this court, Safdar said outside the court.
Earlier this week Sharif summoned top officials from his eponymous ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) to London for a summit on the party's leadership as legal pressure grows.
Sharif named loyalist Shahid Khaqan Abbasi as prime minister days after his ousting, and said his younger brother Shahbaz, currently the chief minister of Punjab province, would eventually succeed him.
Pakistani media reports have said the party plans to keep Sharif as a central figure during campaigning for a general election due to be held sometime next year, despite the Supreme Court barring him from holding office.
The anti-corruption body yesterday petitioned the High Court against the accountability court's order to release Sharif's son-in-law Muhammad Safdar on bail after he was taken into custody on October 9.
Safdar was held upon his arrival from London at the Benazir Bhutto International Airport in the capital, where he was set to appear before the accountability court in connection with a NAB corruption reference, following the issuance of a non-bailable arrest warrant for his absence in earlier hearings, Dawn online
reported.
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) asked the Islamabad High Court to suspend the accountability court's order to release Safdar on bail after he furnished surety bonds worth Rs5mn.
The NAB prosecutor general, making Safdar and the accountability court judge party in the petition, challenged the decision to release Maryam Nawaz's husband requesting he be sent to Rawalpindi's Adiala Jail on judicial remand.
The NAB petition maintained that an order to release the suspect can only be passed by the Supreme Court and that the accountability court should have sent Safdar to jail.
Supporters of the ruling PML-N chant slogans outside the accountability court where Nawaz Sharif appeared to face corruption charges filed against him, in Islamabad, yesterday.
MENAFN0311201700670000ID1096035170
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.