The Islamabad High Court has overturned the 2018 conviction of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in a graft case, paving the way for his participation in the upcoming parliamentary election scheduled for February.
The verdict was announced on Tuesday after Sharif filed an appeal in October.The veteran politician arrived back home in October from four years of self-imposed exile in London.
Can Nawaz Sharif contest in the Coming Election?
Nawaz still remains disqualified from holding public office by the Supreme Court (SC) in the Panama Papers case, where the top court ruled that the disqualification is for life. However, earlier this year amendments were made to the Elections Act, 2017, limiting the disqualification of lawmakers to five years with a retrospective effect.
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As Sharif's political future appears more secure, his rival, Imran Khan, faces challenges. The former prime minister and current opposition figure is serving a three-year sentence with multiple charges filed against him and he denies all of them. Khan succeeded Sharif in the 2018 parliamentary election but was ousted in a no-confidence vote in April 2022. He remains Pakistan’s leading opposition figure, and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party enjoys a large following.
General elections are scheduled to be held in Pakistan in February 2024.
What is the Al-Azizia graft case?
The Al-Azizia Steel Mills corruption case, leading to a seven-year jail term and a $25 million fine for Nawaz Sharif on December 24, 2018, centered around the lack of clarity on the funding source for Al-Azizia Steel Mills and Hill Metal Establishment (HME) in Saudi Arabia.
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In 2019, the Lahore High Court (LHC) suspended Sharif's sentence, permitting him to go abroad for medical treatment. He left for London on November 19, 2019, and returned to Pakistan in October 2023 after four years abroad, after four years of self-exile abroad.
