Nawaz Sharif held guilty of corruption, gets 10 yrs in prison

BLOW TO PMLN Daughter given 7year sentence in case pertaining to family’s acquisition of apartments in London

ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani court on Friday found ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif guilty of corruption and sentenced him to 10 years in prison, a major blow for his PML-N party ahead of general elections on July 25.

The accountability or antigraft court ruled there were corrupt practices linked to the Sharif family’s acquisition of four apartments in the posh Park Lane area of London in the 1990s. The verdict threatens to end the career of 68-year-old Sharif, a political survivor who couldn’t complete any of his three terms as PM.

Besides Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz, widely seen as his political heir, was given a seven-year sentence while her husband, Muhammad Safdar, a former army officer, was sentenced to a year in jail in the Avenfield apartments case.

The court ordered Sharif to pay a fine of £8 million pounds ($10.6 million) and fined Maryam £2 million pounds, while ordering the confiscation of the London flats on behalf of the Pakistan government.

Sharif and his daughter are in London, where his wife Kulsoom Nawaz is being treated for cancer and is in a coma after suffering a heart attack. Hours after the verdict, Sharif told a news conference in London he will return to Pakistan and face prison as soon as he is able to have a word with

his wife who is on a ventilator.

“I will continue my struggle till the people of Pakistan are not freed of the slavery imposed on them by some generals and judges,” he said. Sharif faces arrest on arrival before the polls, in which the PML-N is in a close race with Imran Khan’s Tehreeke-Insaaf party.

Judge Muhammad Bashir read out the 100-page verdict at 4.20pm after repeated delays that kept the country on edge.

Sharif requested a seven-day exemption, saying he wanted to be in court for the judgment, but his plea was dismissed.

The prosecution contended Sharif and his family had failed to prove a legal source of income for purchasing the flats between 1993 and 1996.

Sharif has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and said the flats were acquired by his sons Hussain and Hasan while settling a business deal with a Qatari prince.

“Today’s verdict shows that these Avenfield apartments were purchased using corruption money,” prosecution lawyer Sardar Abbasi told reporters. Sharif would be arrested on arrival under the law.

THE TUSSLE BETWEEN PMLN AND THE ESTABLISHMENT IS THE LAST THING PAKISTAN NEEDS WHEN IT NEEDS TO FOCUS ON ECONOMY

The sentencing of Nawaz Sharif was not entirely unexpected .

His daughter and likely successor Maryam along with her husband, Muhammad Safdar, have also been sentenced. For Maryam, this verdict is a major blow as it ends her immediate chance of holding office. She was due to contest for elections from a safe seat in Lahore, Sharif’s stronghold. Maryam had emerged as a fiery leader in defending her father’s quest for civilian supremacy. Her critics, however, are aplenty. Not unlike India, Imran Khan’s supporters especially in the middle classes, castigate her as a symbol of dynastic politics.

The anti-corruption court’s verdict came 20 days before Pakistan goes to polls. Sharif’s party, which was leading the opinion polls until recently, faces a new challenge. With its key leaders sentenced and disqualified, the voter base will not be mobilised.

Opposition leader Imran Khan can claim victory as he had been pursuing this case vigorously in the courts and on the streets. That Khan is backed by the establish weeks, ment is a well-known fact but there is a sizeable segment of public opinion in Pakistan that considers the Sharif dynasty as a venal representation of old politics of privilege and patronage. It is a separate matter that in recent Khan has been accepting defectors from Sharif’s party to boost his party’s chances of forming a coalition government.

Currently, it is Sharif’s younger brother Shehbaz who is leading the race and is a contender for the PM’s slot. He rejected the verdict and hours later Sharif expressed his strong reservations about the verdict.

The setback will certainly garner a sympathy wave within Sharif’s voter base. But it is not likely to influence swing voters who may conclude that power and ability to distribute patronage may slip away from the Sharifs.

In short, this is good news for Khan, whose chances of rising to power have increased manifold.

Sharif’s imminent return, unless he changes his decision, is likely to escalate political tensions. Whether in jail or outside, he will be a force to reckon with.

But one thing is clear: he is not returning to power anytime soon.

If anything the polarisation between the PML-N and the establishment is the last thing Pakistan needs, when it needs to focus on challenges faced by the economy.