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LAHORE, Pakistan – Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has been convicted and sentenced by a Pakistani anti-corruption court to prison in absentia, which should further disrupt an already chaotic campaign for this month's national elections.
The sentence, 10 years in prison and a fine of 8 million pounds, or $ 10.6 million, came about a year after the Supreme Court of Pakistan had dismissed Mr. Sharif and less five months after the court had forbidden her to stay for life. The case stems from the leak of Panama Papers that revealed expensive and undeclared property belonging to the Sharif family in London.
The verdict marked a new downfall for Mr. Sharif, who was the prime minister of Pakistan three times but never completed
He was an imposing figure of modern Pakistani politics as an example of two of the most central issues of the country: as a staunch defender of civilian governance amidst military manipulations, and as a symbol of a Pakistani venality. From the beginning of Mr. Sharif's legal troubles in 2016, his supporters accused the country's powerful military establishment of pressuring Mr. Sharif, whose first term of office ended in resignation. under military pressure and whose second was cut short by a coup d'etat of the army
. Sharif's daughter, Maryam Nawaz Sharif, and her husband, Muhammad Safdar, were also convicted, with Ms. Sharif sentenced to seven years in prison and Mr. Safdar to prison. All three denied any wrongdoing in the corruption case. But in the decision that deposed him last year, the Supreme Court found that the former prime minister and members of his family could not explain how they could afford the expensive flats of London and that they did not allow them to make profits. 19659002] Now the verdict and sentence, announced by Muhammad Bashir, a judge of the Islamabad court of responsibility, could see them imprisoned. But at least Friday, it seemed unlikely that Mr. Sharif or his daughter would appear in Pakistan to go to jail.
It is said that the family is in London to take care of the sick wife of Mr. Sharif, Kulsoom Nawaz Sharif. According to officials of her political party, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, she is suffering from cancer and has been on a respirator.
Pakistani media reported that Mr. Sharif and his daughter were listening to the verdict of the London apartments at the center of the case. Sharif 's request to delay the verdict for at least a week was dismissed by the judge earlier Friday.
The Sharif family members had stated before the verdict that they were going to appeal a conviction, but it is unlikely
The conviction also prohibits Maryam Sharif from challenging the elections of 25 July, undermining Mr. Sharif's ambitions to have his daughter play a leading role in national and partisan politics. Mrs. Sharif appeared in recent months as a powerful voice for the civil power and against the interference of the army in politics
. Safdar, the son-in-law, is in Pakistan but was not in court when the verdict was announced. He is campaigning in his hometown of Mansehra, in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province (north-west of the country), and is expected to hold a press conference later on Friday.
Sharif and his daughter said that they were not afraid to go to jail, but it remains to be seen whether they will return to Pakistan before the elections. Political opponents have already said that the Sharif family is in an unannounced exile.
Their absence can only further aggravate the fortunes of their party, known as PML-N abbreviation.
Several other members of the party were also barred by the courts from running in the July 25 elections. Others defected to other parties or simply left, although the leadership of the PML-N claims that these desertions were subjected to pressure from the army
"The repression was very muscular and severe, "said Ahmed Rasheed. a foreign policy analyst and an author. "Yes, the PML-N is corrupt, but they do not deserve to be harassed in elections like this."
Rasheed called the PML-N and other family political parties "banana republics", but said that the "key tragedy" in Pakistan was military intervention in politics.
Despite the actions against her, the PML-N retains strong support Punjab, the most populous and prosperous province in the country. The results in Punjab are often critical for a party's national electoral fortunes.
But in a tense election season, young Sharif appeared to lack the popular appeal of his brother, even though the party has been under severe pressure. 19659021]
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