Nawaz Sharif, daughter of Maryam arrested on her return, terror hits polls in Pakistan

Prime Minister of Pakistan Minister Nawaz Sharif sits on a plane after landing at Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore, Pakistan on July 13, 2018. (Source: Reuters Photo)

A few days Before the parliamentary elections in Pakistan, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam was arrested on Friday night after returning to the country following his conviction in one of three corruption cases.

Sharif returned to Pakistan to galvanize his party of the Muslim League of Pakistan ahead of the July 25 elections. , including a prominent nationalist leader, were killed in a powerful suicide bombing and targeted attack on separate electoral rallies in Pakistan.

The plane carrying Sharif and Maryam landed at Allama Iqbal airport in Lahore around 9 pm, nearly three hours late. According to an airport official, they went to a team of the country's anti-corruption body – the National Accountability Bureau – without any resistance. Officials from the Federal Agency of Inquiry (FIA) have taken their pbadports for immigration.

According to media reports, dozens of security officials entered the plane after landing and asked other pbadengers to leave. Their pbadports were seized by a team of three FIA ​​members, and both were able to meet Sharif's mother Begum Shamim Akhtar in the Haj Lounge before being sent on a special private plane for the flight. International airport of Islamabad. READ | Why Nawaz Sharif can have trouble recovering

Maryam Nawaz (L) tweeted this photo of her father with her comatose mother Before leaving London for Pakistan

Earlier in the day, police arrested in Lahore, arresting dozens of workers from the Pakistani Muslim League party of Sharif to prevent them from greeting him at the airport. The Punjab government also suspended mobile and internet services in Lahore.

In a video message, tweeted by Maryam, 44, the former prime minister urged his supporters to stand by his side and "change the destiny of the country". She also posted photos of their visit to the hospital to see her sick mother Kulsoom, who is critically ill and is being treated for cancer.

"The country is at a critical moment right now, I've done what I could, I know that I've been sentenced to 10 years (in prison) and that I'll be immediately driven into a prison cell, but I want Pakistani nationals to know that I'm doing this for you, "he said in the video.

Their return to Pakistan to face a prison sentence is perceived as a major challenge to galvanize their distressed party. Election of July 25. Sharif hopes to shake an electoral race marred by accusations that the powerful Pakistani army is working behind the scenes to distort the fight in favor of cricket ex-hero Imran Khan, who called Sharif a "criminal" who does not deserves no support. [19659016] Nawaz Sharif, daughter of Maryam arrested on her return, terrorizes polls in Pakistan "data-lazy-src =" https://images.indianexpress.com/2018/07/nawazsharif3.jpg”/>

Sharif said : "What credibility will these elections have when the government takes drastic measures against our people and this repression will take place throughout the country?"

Sharif and Maryam were sentenced on July 6 in the Evenfield property case related to the Sharif family's property of four luxury apartments in London Sharif and Mary am have been sentenced to 10 and 7 years in prison. The family is also facing two other corruption cases before the Court of Justice – Al-Azizia Steel Mills and Flagship Investments – in which she is accused of money laundering, tax evasion and concealment of property. 39, offshore badets.

The President and Shahbaz, Sharif's younger brother, also managed to hold a rally despite the imposition of Article 144 which banned the badembly of more than five people.

The rally began in Lohari in the afternoon a few kilometers as party workers had trouble removing the cargo containers on the way. Near the airport, Sharif supporters clashed with police who did not stop them removing containers.

A Pakistani man mourns the corpse of a family member killed in a bomb blast in a morgue in Quetta, Pakistan, July 13, 2018. Stressing the security threat, two bombs exploded on Friday, killing many people in the latest election-related violence to hit Pakistan. (AP Photo)

"It appears that the interim government of Punjab has reached an agreement with the PML-N that is withdrawing thousands of police to give free rein to the vicinity of Lahore airport and end the rally. "officer told PTI. "We have received orders from our command not to act against the PML-N rally participants."

S Addressing reporters before arriving at the airport, Shahbaz said that "a sea of ​​people" had been presented to Sharif. "The people of Lahore have delivered a verdict before the July 25 elections," he said. "I am grateful to the people of Lahore for coming in such large numbers," he said, adding that the people had rejected the court's decision to sentence Sharif and Maryam.

Sharif was disqualified by the Supreme Court year in the Panama Papers case and remains popular, especially in Punjab, the most populous and major electoral province. He and his party have accused the army of orchestrating his sentence, saying that she takes it to the PML-N for his criticisms of the law. establishment safe.

After the Supreme Court ousted Sharif last July, the courts banned him -N Party that he founded. His brother Shahbaz became party chairman, but Sharif remains the power behind the throne. Since then, many of his allies have been either disqualified by the courts or confronted with corruption cases.

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