Pakistan Court Overturns ex-PM Nawaz Sharif's Last Graft Conviction

Sharif, 73, returned to Pakistan in October after spending four years in self-imposed exile in London. He was ousted from office in July 2017 for providing false information about his wealth revealed by the Panama Papers leak. Journalists revealed his undisclosed businesses in Saudi Arabia and luxurious London apartments owned by him and his family.

The Islamabad High Court nullified a 2018 conviction related to his undeclared Al-Azizia Steel Mill business in Saudi Arabia. He had received a seven-year prison sentence for failing to convince judges that he had no involvement in the steel mill established by his father.

This acquittal follows the overturning of the first graft case against Sharif two weeks ago by the same court, where he was convicted over his family's ownership of luxury flats in London that exceeded their affordable means, resulting in a 10-year jail sentence and a lifetime ban from politics in 2018.

"God has saved me from the fake cases" Sharif said at a press conference on Wednesday, emphasizing that judges found nothing against him in the Panama Papers case trials.

Legal experts suggest that the final hurdle for Sharif is the Supreme Court's decision on the lifetime ban case.

"After acquittal, in the last politically motivated case, only the Supreme Court’s decision in the lifetime ban case remains as the last hurdle for Nawaz Sharif to contest the 2024 general elections,” Osama Malik, a senior constitutional lawyer, explained. “If the Supreme Court declares that Sharif’s disqualification was only for five years as per the recently passed statute, then he is very likely to become Prime Minister of Pakistan for the fourth time."

Known as the 'Lion of Punjab,' Sharif is actively campaigning across the country to fill the political vacuum created by Imran Khan's disqualification and incarceration, according to Malik.

Sharif's younger brother, Shehbaz Sharif, a former Prime Minister of Pakistan, stated that his brother Nawaz is "vindicated once again," criticizing the cases as a sham created to disqualify a sitting prime minister. He highlighted the seven years wasted as not just a personal loss but also a loss for the development and prosperity of Pakistan.

Throughout the legal proceedings, Sharif consistently maintained his innocence, asserting that the graft charges against him were politically motivated. He served as prime minister in the 1990s, experiencing a power struggle with the country's president, which was resolved through military intervention, leading to their removal from office.

He returned to power in 2013, but was removed by the Supreme Court in 2017 for not declaring a monthly salary from a company owned by his son, a claim he denies.

Tensions between civilian governments and the military have been a persistent source of instability in Pakistan, with the military staging coups and ruling the country for nearly half the time since gaining independence from British colonial rule in 1947. The military denies any interference in politics.