Sharifs walk free after 69-day jail ordeal

IHC suspends jail sentence for the trio in Avenfield reference

ISLAMABAD: Deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law Capt (retd) Safdar were released from jail on Wednesday after a court suspended their prison sentences.

They were sentenced in July after being found guilty of corrupt practices related to the ownership of four luxury properties in central London.

Supporters showered Sharif's car with rose petals after he was freed from Adiala jail in Rawalpindi.

Earlier, the Islamabad High Court suspended the 10-year jail term of the three-time premier, after spending 69 days in Adiala jail.

The IHC’s division bench comprising Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb allowed the petitions of the Sharif family members against the accountability court’s July 6 judgment in the Avenfield Apartments reference.



The deposed prime minister was plagued during his last term in office by the Panama Papers scandal. The Supreme Court had disqualified him and, later, the apex court had barred him from participating in the elections for life.

For Sharif, who was ousted from the premiership over graft allegations and ultimately landed in jail, the suspension of the sentence by the IHC is the kind of relief that has not only stirred up the country’s political landscape but will also enable him to openly go back to public.

“The instant writ petition is allowed and the sentence awarded to the petitioners by the accountability court shall remain suspended till the final adjudication of the appeal filed by the petitioner,” reads the division bench’s judgment.

“The petitioner shall be released on bail subject to furnishing bail bonds in the sum of Rs500,000 with one surety in the amount to the satisfaction of deputy registrar of the high court,” it added.

The order allowed the release of Sharifs from Rawalpindi’s Central Jail – where they have been incarcerated since July 13.

The judgment came after Sharifs’ counsels Khawaja Haris and Amjad Pervaiz and NAB prosecutors Akram Qureshi and Jahanzeb Bharwana concluded their arguments on Shairfs’ petitions seeking suspension of the sentences.

In the July 6 decision, Accountability Judge Muhammad Bashir had sentenced Sharif to 10 years rigorous imprisonment (RI), Maryam to seven years RI and Safdar to two year (RI).

The accused were also disqualified to contest elections or to hold public office for a period of 10 years after release.

This is an interim relief. His conviction would end only when the appeals challenging the July 6 judgment are also accepted.

Sharifs had challenged the convictions through appeals and sentences through petitions and, right now, the court has only heard the petitions and the order is only to the extent of petitions only.

Before the judgment was pronounced, the courtroom was packed and one could not even move an inch.

When Justice Minallah started reading the order and reached to the word “allowed”, there was loud cheer in the courtroom that could be heard even by people standing outside the courtroom and IHC premises.

Next, there were slogans in favour of Sharifs, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), IHC’s judges and the verdict, and the party supporters continued celebrating for several hours.

PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif and other party leaders, including Khawaja Asif, Mushahiddullah Khan, Raja Zafarul Haq, Ahsan Iqbal, Abid Sher Ali, Maryam Aurangzeb, Chaudhry Tanveer and others were present in IHC when the verdict was announced.

Earlier, when the case was taken up, NAB prosecutors continued presenting arguments on the suspension petitions.

At one stage, they shocked the bench by saying that the Supreme Court’s judgments in Khalid Aziz and Ghaniur Rehman cases wherein parameters were set for shifting the burden of proof on the accused were “irrelevant” in the instant case as the monetary transactions as well as assets were abroad.

The judges reconfirmed it from the prosecutors and asked Haris to comment on it. Haris said neither exception has been created in the SC judgments nor in the NAB ordinance of 1999.

“Will the principle of benefit of doubt not go in favour of Nawaz Sharif if you cannot even remotely connect him with the properties?” enquired Justice Minallah from NAB prosecutors.

Qureshi said full opportunity was provided to the accused for producing evidence, including the Qatari prince who was privy to the source of income, but they failed.

On several occasions, the judges enquired if there was any evidence connecting Maryam with the acquisition of the flats in the years 1993, 1995 and 1996.

All the NAB prosecutors could say was that she was accused of producing “forged” trust deeds before the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) that probed the Panamagate scandal on the Supreme Court’s order.

At one point, when Qureshi used the word “we” for NAB and JIT, Justice Aurangzeb remarked that “you are not the JIT. NAB is different. Kindly appreciate the difference”.

During the hearing, Justice Minallah remarked how the bench could presume that Sharif is the owner of the London properties when NAB couldn’t establish Sharif’s link with the assets after a thorough investigation.

At 2:10pm, the court reserved verdict and announced it on 3pm.

Meanwhile, amid party workers jubilations, the deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam and son-in-law Capt (retd) Safdar arrived in Lahore on a special plane.



He was taken to his residence at Jati Umrah escorted by a heavily protected convoy of over two dozen vehicles. Hundreds of party workers gathered outside the Hajj terminal to receive their party leader.

The convoy carrying the three, when came out of the Hajj terminal, was surrounded by several dozen party workers, who showered the vehicles with flower petals and chanted slogans in favors of their party leader.

The vehicles barely made through the ardent party supporters at Ring Road from where the convoy sped off for Jati Umrah.

Sharif’s motorcade again hit snags just before Jati Umrah, where hundreds of party workers awaited anxiously to catch a glimpse of their leader.

Special food was also prepared to the liking of Sharif on orders of his mother.

Also, Hamza Shehbaz, talking to the media, said today was a day of jubilation.

He said that the trial court’s decision stated itself that no corruption was proven against Nawaz Sharif and time will prove his innocence.

He wished that had this decision come earlier, Sharif would have been with his wife during her last days.

(With input from Rameez Khan in Lahore)