Shahbaz briefs Nawaz on border tensions

lahore — Opposition leader and PML-N chief Shahbaz Sharif met his elder brother, deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif, in a jail here and briefed him on the latest geopolitical situation, especially the tensions with India, according to a media report.

Sharif, 69, is serving a sevenyear imprisonment in Al Azizia steel mills corruption case in the Kot Lakhpat Jail in Lahore.

“The purpose of the meeting on Saturday was to brief him (Nawaz) on the latest geopolitical situation, especially the tensions with India,” the reported, quoting party sources.

Court cases against the Sharif family were also discussed during the meeting. Shahbaz Sharif also inquired about Nawaz’s health, the paper said.

Last week, Sharif was sent back to jail after his 10-day stay in Jinnah Hospital Lahore in connection with his treatment.

Nawaz Sharif was the prime minister during the Kargil conflict in 1999.

Later, his government was overthrown by then army chief General Pervez Musharraf.

According to a Punjab government official, the three-time prime minister asked the doctors to shift him back to jail after his bail petition on medical grounds was rejected by a court.

Three corruption cases — Avenfield properties, Flagship investment and Al Azizia steel mills — were registered against the Sharif family by the anti-graft body in 2017 following a judgment by the Supreme Court that disqualified Sharif in the Panama Papers case in 2017.

He was sentenced to 10 years in prison in the Avenfield case in July 2018 which was related to his properties in London. Later he was given bail in September.

In December, an accountability court convicted him in the Al Azizia case but acquitted him in the Flagship reference.