Former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, daughter Maryam Nawaz, son-in-law Captain Safdar granted bail, jail sentences suspended in corruption case

Update at 11.41pm:  Former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz released from prison.

Islamabad High Court has granted bail to former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law Captain Safdar on Wednesday. Sharif was imprisoned in the Adiala jail in Rawalpindi. They were charged with the Avenfield Reference case, a massive corruption case, which had hit the PML(N) and Nawaz Sharif. As per initial reports, Nawaz Sharif along with his daughter and son-in-law would be released from the Adiala jail in a couple of hours.

The Islamabad High Court has also suspended the verdict by the Accountability court of granting 10 years of prison time to Nawaz Sharif, 7 years to his daughter Maryam and 1 year to son-in-law Captain Safdar.

A two-judge bench of the Islamabad High Court heard the petitions filed by former Sharif, his daughter Maryam and son-in-law Capt (retd) Muhammad Safdar challenging their conviction related to the purchase of luxury flats in London.

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This comes after Sharif’s wife Kulsoom Nawaz’s death on September 11, after a long battle with cancer. 68-year-old Begum Kulsoom was undergoing treatment in London since June 2017 at Harley Street Clinic.

READ | Former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif And Daughter Maryam Arrested In Lahore. Full Details Here

Former Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz were arrested on July 13 at Lahore Airport in the Avenfield Reference case.

The case pertains to the purchase of Avenfield apartments through offshore companies, the owner and beneficiary of which was Maryam Nawaz. She was sentenced to seven years jail and fined two million pounds by the Accountability Court.

Earlier, in April, Pakistan's Supreme Court disqualified Nawaz Sharif from holding public office for life after his conviction for corruption in the Panama Papers case. His fellow-party leader Shahid Abbasi had taken over as Prime Minister in the aftermath, though his reign was short as he too was required to step aside ahead of the July 25 General Elections in Pakistan.

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