Former Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif acquitted in 37-year-old corruption case
Sharif was accused of misusing his authority and facilitating the transfer of 6.75 acres of government land to the owner of a media group.
A Pakistan court on Saturday acquitted former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in a 37-year-old corruption case, reported The Express Tribune.
The case pertains to allegations that Sharif, who was the chairman of the Lahore Development Authority in 1986, misused his authority and facilitated the transfer of 6.75 acres of government land to Mir Shakil-ur-Rehman, the owner of the Jang Media Group.
Pakistan’s anti-corruption body, the National Accountability Bureau, alleged that Sharif caused a loss of Rs 143 million to the national exchequer through the allotment of the land.
Sharif’s lawyer, however, argued that the former prime minister did not play any role in the land allotment, and that all the other accused persons had been acquitted.
In 2018, Sharif was barred from holding public office for life after Pakistan’s Supreme Court convicted him in the Panama Papers case a year before. The court had ordered an investigation against Sharif and his family after the leaked papers from Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca revealed that they had offshore companies and assets worth millions of dollars.
The former prime minister has been living in self-exile in the United Kingdom since November 2019.
On Sunday, the National Assembly of Pakistan approved the Elections (Amendment) Act 2023, which limits the disqualification of legislators to five years with retrospective effect, reported Dawn.
The law would allow Sharif to contest elections again.