Nawaz Sharif had challenged his sentences in the Avenfield property and Al-Azizia cases in the IHC. He had filed an appeal against both convictions.

Pakistan News: Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was on Wednesday acquitted in Avenfield corruption case while the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) withdrew the appeal challenging his acquittal in another case.

In a major relief for the former Premier who recently made a triumphant return to Pakistan following a self-imposed exile, a two-member bench of the Islamabad High Court bench comprising Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb announced Sharif’s acquittal in the Avenfield graft case.

Sharif had filed an appeal in the top court to challenge his conviction in the case in which he was handed a 10-year prison sentence in 2018. In the same year, the 73-year-old Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo was acquitted by a trial court in the Flagship corruption case but his acquittal was challenged in the IHC by anti-corruption watchdog NAB.

What is the Avenfield corruption case?

The Avenfield corruption case was about having properties in London with ill-gotten money and he was on bail in the case while his appeal against conviction was being heard by the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

After hearing arguments, the IHC on Wednesday acquitted Sharif in the Avenfield case while the NAB decided to withdraw its appeal in the Flagship case due to which his acquittal by the trial court was restored by the high court.

‘God made has victorious’

“I thank God as I had left the entire matter to him. God has made us victorious today,” Sharif said while talking to reporters after the hearing.

Quaid Muhammad Nawaz Sharif expressing his sentiments.#نوازشریف_سرخرو pic.twitter.com/Xu0SGE8mBr

— PMLN (@pmln_org) November 29, 2023

Sharif, the only Pakistani politician who became the prime minister of the coup-prone country for a record three times, returned to the country about four years later last month to lead his party in general elections scheduled in February 2023.

Earlier this month, he directed his party leaders to begin their preparations for the national elections.

‘Vindicated’

In a post on X, his daughter Maryam Nawaz said that today’s verdict showed how God vindicated those who put their unwavering trust in him.

“Finally, the truth has emerged victorious. THEY ATTACK, HE GROWS!!” the PML-N said in a post on X. “The truth cannot be hidden for long. Nawaz Sharif wins!!”

Sharif is, however, still convicted in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills case in which was sentenced to seven years in jail in 2018. His appeal against the sentence is being heard at the IHC.

He was present during the hearing inside the IHC where strict security measures were put in place to avoid any untoward situation.

Sharif had challenged his sentences in the Avenfield property and Al-Azizia cases in the IHC. He had filed an appeal against both convictions.

Sharif was allowed to go to London in November 2019 on medical grounds. The IHC declared him a proclaimed offender in both cases in December 2020.

(With PTI inputs)