Pakistan's Former Prime Minister Sharif Sentenced to 10 Years for Corruption, Government and Economy

ven. Jul 6, 2018 – 22:45

[ISLAMABAD] Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was sentenced in absentia to 10 years in prison by a corruption court in Islamabad on Friday, lawyers said, seriously hurting party of his party. The verdict, a potentially important boost for the main opposition party led by former World Cup cricket player Imran Khan, immediately raised the question of whether Sharif will return to Pakistan. from London, where his wife is Sharif was ousted from his third term as prime minister by the Supreme Court last year as a result of a corruption investigation and banned from politics for life, but remains a powerful symbol for his ruling party Nawaz

. He called the charges against him conspiracy by the powerful military, who ruled Pakistan for nearly half of its 70-year history.

Small protests erupted quickly after the war. dictated in the court of Islamabad, which was surrounded by strong security, and in other Pakistani cities, including Multan in Punjab, the provincial stronghold of the Sharif dynasty

"We reject this decision", His brother Shahbaz Sharif The PML-N is the second democratic transition of power in Pakistan, said at a televised news conference in Lahore shortly after the verdict.

"It is based on injustices.This decision will be written in black words in history."

Mr. Khan on the other hand greeted with joy the news of the verdict at a rally in the Swat Valley in northwestern Pakistan

. offer thanksgiving prayers because today is the beginning of a new Pakistan. Now, thieves do not go to assemblies, but to prisons, "he told a roaring crowd of thousands.

Sharif was also fined eight million pounds ($ 10 million) ) Mohammad Aurangzeb told AFP:

The prosecution's lawyer, Sardar Muzaffar Abbas, said the court had ordered the confiscation of properties, in the exclusive Mayfair of London, by the federal government

Shahbaz, less charismatic, seeks to defy the challenge by the Justice Movement of Khan and other parties

"No matter what the PML-N says, this decision is going to damage their bank of votes, "said analyst Rifaat Hussain. According to recent polls, up to 22 percent of Pakistani voters are undecided before July 25, he added, and with new serious allegations of corruption against PM leadership L-N, Little chance Sharif mobilizes the "sympathy factor" after the verdict to attract these voters.

The decision put Sharif in a "difficult position," acknowledged analyst Rasool Bukhsh Rais.

"If Sharif does not return, his feast is over.If he comes back, he will have to fight and he will suffer a lot, but that way he will save his party."

Sharif, who at times seemed seek a better relationship with the arch of Pakistan Since being repeatedly ousted, the Indonesian military has accused the military of deliberate political interference.

Journalists and activists spoke of the pressure of the military to censor positive coverage of the PML-N campaign. The army said that she does not intervene in the media.

The party also witnessed a series of resounding defections in the weeks leading up to the campaign that fueled its allegations that it is targeted by security forces. 19659003] The controversy over corruption erupted with the publication in 2016 of 11.5 million secret documents of the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, documenting the offshore transactions of many rich and powerful in the world.

Three of Sharif & # 39; s four children – Maryam, his presumptive political heir, and his sons Hasan and Hussein – were involved in the newspapers.

On Friday, the court also sentenced Maryam to seven years in prison.

Sharif faced – and returns In 1993, he was sacked from his first term as prime minister for corruption, while in 1999, he was sentenced to life imprisonment after the end of his second term with a coup of the military state.

After the coup d'etat, he was allowed to exile in Saudi Arabia, returning in 2007 before becoming prime minister for the third time in 2013.

AFP