The Islamabad High Court on Wednesday suspended the jail terms handed to former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law Mohammad Safdar in the Avenfield corruption reference, the Dawn reported.

The court’s judgement was based on an appeal filed by the Sharifs and Capt Safdar against their conviction by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on July 6. The court accepted their petitions and suspended their sentences pending final adjudication of appeals.

The NAB had sentenced Nawaz Sharif to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment in one of the three corruption cases against him in the Panama Papers scandal. His daughter and co-accused Maryam was handed seven years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of two million pounds.

According to media reports, the Avenfield case hearing lasted for more than nine months and both Sharif and his daughter attended dozens of hearings. During the trial, the NAB presented around 21 witnesses to prove that the Sharif family cannot justify the money trail to buy four apartments in Avenfield House, Park Lane, London.

It was alleged that the properties were bought with corruption money in the 1990s when he served twice as the Prime Minister. Sharif rejected any wrongdoing and insisted they were bought with the legitimate money. </s> Pakistan former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was sentenced to 10 years in jail in Avenfield corruption case by an anti-corruption court on Friday while his daughter Maryam Sharif was sentenced to 7 years in the Avenfield corruption case. Nawaz Sharif’s son-in-law Safdar was given a year sentence. The anti-corruption court has also imposed a fine of 8 million pounds on Nawaz Sharif while Maryam Sharif received a fine of two million pounds. Now, Maryam Sharif who is a Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) leader can’t contest elections.

Reacting to the court’s judgement, Punjab province Chief Minister and current president of PML(N) Shahbaz Sharif said that they will take all legal and constitutional routes to fight for justice. Nawaz Sharif has always fought bravely, he added.

Experts believe that it is a very significant political development as general elections in Pakistan will be held this month. It is a major setback for Nawaz Sharif’s party which is contesting the election on all parliamentary seats.

Further speaking on the matter, brother of convict Nawaz Sharif said that all PML(N) candidates are going to contest in upcoming elections and during their campaign, they will make people aware about the injustice that was done to us and our disappointment in the decision. </s> The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) court on Friday convicted former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to 10 years of prison and a financial penalty of worth €8 million, while his daughter Maryam Nawaz was handed 7 years of imprisonment and a fine of £2 million, his son-in-law Safdar Awan was given 1 year sentence for not co-operating in the Avenfield reference corruption case.

The case pertains to a number of properties against the Sharif family in Avenfield House, Park Lane, London.

In 2015 Panama Papers leak revealed that Nawaz Sharif’s children had links with foreign companies, that were being used to channel funds and buy foreign flats, including these flats in Avenfield in UK.

Sharif was disqualified as Pakistan’s prime minister in 2017 by the Supreme Court in regard to the Panama paper case.

After the disqualification of Nawaz Sharif, the NAB had filed 3 corruption cases related to these flats in Avenfield reference. The Sharif family failed to declare the financial resources with which they claimed to have bought these disputed flats. According to the Joint Investigating Team (JIT) report submitted in Panamagate case, the sharifs gave contradictory statements about the London flats that actually belonged to them since 1993.

The JIT concluded that Sharifs were lying in the matter.

However, the Sharifs insist that they legitimately acquired the 4 disputed properties.

The NAB court has also asked the federal government to confiscate the properties.

There has been much apprehension regarding the delay in the verdict. However, the judge said that delay was because of the need to photocopy the judgement, which is more than 100 pages long for both the defence and the prosecution. </s> Ousted prime minister and his daughter found guilty of failing to disclose ownership of Avenfield apartments

An Accountability Court in Islamabad on Friday rendered it verdict in the Avenfield corruption reference against ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s family, sentencing the ousted PMLN leader to 10 years’ imprisonment. The judgment also sentences Sharif’s daughter Maryam to 7 years’ imprisonment and her husband, Muhammad Safdar, to 1 year in jail.

The verdict, announced to media by the prosecution’s lawyer, has also announced fines in addition to the jail terms. Nawaz Sharif has been fined GBP8 million, while Maryam has been fined GBP2 million. These funds will be disbursed to the federal government, according to the judgment. In addition, the government has been ordered to confiscate the property.

Maryam Nawaz Sharif also stands disqualified from contesting the 2018 general elections after the verdict.

Judge Mohammad Bashir announced the judgment after earlier rejecting a plea by Sharif and his daughter Maryam to reserve it for seven days to allow them to return home from London, where they are currently visiting Kulsoom Nawaz, who is a cancer patient and is reportedly in critical condition. Of the accused, only Captain Safdar is currently in Pakistan; Nawaz and his children are all in London with their ailing mother.

Addressing a press conference after the verdict, PMLN President Shahbaz Sharif said his party and the “entire nation” had rejected it. “Nawaz Sharif’s name never even appeared in the Panama reference,” he said, adding that there was no solid evidence to implicate his elder brother. He also questioned NAB’s expedited procedure in the Sharif case, noting that there were cases with far greater alleged corruption that had been pending for years.

The Avenfield reference revolves around the purchase of four flats in Avenfield House, Park Lane, London and is one of a number of corruption cases filed by the National Accountability Bureau against Nawaz Sharif and his children following the premier’s ouster from office by the Supreme Court through its Panamagate verdict. In addition to Nawaz, Maryam, and her husband Captain Muhammad Safdar, NAB also nominated Sharif’s sons Hussain and Hassan as co-accused in the corruption references.

According to NAB, the Sharif family had failed to disclose the resources used to purchase the apartments despite claiming they had all been acquired through legitimate sources. A JIT report used to establish NAB’s case had also alleged that the Sharif family had given contradictory reports about when they had purchased the apartments, adding that records showed they had owned them since 1993. </s> Pakistan’s deposed premier Nawaz Sharif was today sentenced in absentia to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment by an anti-graft court in one of the three corruption cases against him in the Panama Papers scandal, dealing a huge blow to his party ahead of the elections on July 25. Sharif’s 44-year-old daughter and co-accused Maryam was given seven years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of two million pounds, while her husband Capt (Retd) Muhammad Safdar was jailed for one year for not cooperating with the anti-graft authorities.

Amid tight security, the court delivered the much-anticipated verdict after postponing it for five times during the day in the Avenfield corruption case — pertaining to the ownership of four flats in the posh Avenfield House in London. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had filed the case, along with two others, on the Supreme Court’s directives in the landmark Panamagate verdict last year which disqualified Sharif, the three-time prime minister.

Sharif, 68, is currently in London attending to his wife Kulsoom Nawaz who was diagnosed with throat cancer last year. The ruling came weeks before the general elections in Pakistan on July 25 and analysts say it could adversely hit the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), the party headed by Sharif.

After the verdict, Maryam and Safdar were disqualified from contesting elections. NAB Deputy Prosecutor General Sardar Muzaffar Abbasi said the accused have 10 days to file an appeal against the verdict. Soon after the verdict, Maryam, considered to be Sharif’s heir apparent, took to Twitter to share this message: “This is a very small punishment for firmly standing in front of unseen forces. The moral to fight against oppression has increased today.”

Islamabad-based accountability court judge Mohammad Bashir pronounced the verdict behind closed doors. Earlier, he had rejected the application of the Sharif family seeking a seven-day postponement in the announcement of the verdict. “The court sentenced Sharif to 10 years rigorous imprisonment and fined eight million pounds (over USD 10 million). Maryam was given seven years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed two million pounds (over USD 2.6 million) and her husband Muhammad Safdar was awarded one-year rigorous imprisonment,” the NAB prosecution team chief Sardar Muzaffar Abbasi told media outside the court.

The court also ordered confiscation of Avenfield apartments in favour of Pakistan. The fine money will go into the state treasury. “I congratulate my all prosecution team… It is a victory of the NAB prosecution,” Abbasi said. He also said that the verdict showed that Avenfield apartments were purchased with corruption money and were in the ownership of Sharif family since 1993. According to media reports, Sharif and Maryam were in their apartment in the Avenfield building in London when the decision was announced.

Besides Sharif, his daughter Maryam and son-in-law Safdar, his sons Hassan and Hussain were also co-accused. The two sons never appeared before the court and were declared as absconders. Sharif resigned as Pakistan prime minister last year after the Supreme Court disqualified him from holding public office and ruled that graft cases be filed against the beleaguered leader and his children over the Panama Papers scandal.

The Avenfield case hearing lasted for more than nine months and both Sharif and his daughter attended dozens of hearings. During the trial, the NAB presented around 21 witnessed to prove that Sharif family cannot justify the money trail to buy four apartments in Avenfield House, Park Lane, London. It is alleged that the properties were allegedly bought with grant money in 1990s when he served twice as the prime minister.

Sharif rejected any wrongdoing and insisted they were bought with the legitimate money. After the conviction, it was not sure if Sharif and Maryam would come back to face rigorous imprisonment. Analysts believe that if they return, it might boost the chances of good showing in elections by the PML-N due to the sympathy vote.

Sharif’s nemesis Imran Khan of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) said even before the verdict that Sharif will be sent to jail due to his corruption, as he accused him of using illness of his wife Kulsoom as “emotional blackmail”. “Sharif did not remember his wife while she was under treatment in London and he was holding public meetings across the country,” the cricketer-turned-politician said. </s> A top Pakistani court Wednesday suspended the jail sentences of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter and son-in-law in a corruption case and ordered their release from a high-security prison. 



 A two-judge bench of the Islamabad High Court heard the petitions filed by former Sharif, 68, his daughter Maryam and son-in-law Capt (retd) Muhammad Safdar challenging their conviction related to the purchase of luxury flats in London. 



 Justice Athar Minallah read the judgment and suspended the sentences handed to them by the accountability court judge Mohammad Bashir on July 6. Sharif, 68, Maryam, 44, and Safdar, 54, were sentenced to 11 years, eight years and one year, respectively, in prison in the Avenfield properties case.

 

The two-judge bench ordered the release of the former premier, his daughter and son-in-law from the Adiala jail in Rawalpindi.

 

Sharif, Maryam and Safdar were also directed to submit bail bonds worth Rs 500,000. 

 

The court also dismissed the National Accountability Bureau's request to first announce a judgment on the maintainability of the pleas. The bench also imposed a fine on the NAB lawyers earlier for using delaying tactics. 



 The NAB was also pulled up by the Supreme Court on Monday when it rejected its petition challenging the IHC's decision to hear Sharifs' petitions against the Avenfield verdict. 

 

Chief Justice Saqib Nisar termed the NAB petition as frivolous and imposed a Rs 20,000 fine on the anti-corruption watchdog. 



 A large number of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders, including Shehbaz Sharif, Pervaiz Rashid and Khurram Dastgir, were present in the courtroom for the hearing.



 Sharif resigned as Pakistan prime minister last year after the Supreme Court disqualified him from holding public office and ruled that graft cases be filed against the beleaguered leader and his children over the Panama Papers scandal.

 

The Avenfield case was among the three corruption cases filed against the three-time former premier and his children by the NAB on the Supreme Court's orders in the Panama Papers case which disqualified Sharif. </s> Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was on Friday sentenced to 10 years in prison by the accountability court in a corruption case.

Sharif's daughter Maryam Nawaz was sentenced to seven years in prison while her husband Captain (retd) Safdar was given a year in jail in the case filed by the National Accountability Bureau, Dawn reported.

The Sharif family has been charged with corruption in three cases.

Accountability court Judge Mohammad Bashir announced the verdict after several delays since morning. The court ruled that the Sharif family's Avenfield apartments in London shall be seized by the federal government.

The former Prime Minister and his daughter were not present in the country while Sharif's son-in-law was missing from the court.

Maryam Nawaz and her husband stand barred from contesting the July 25 election from Lahore and Mansehra respectively.

The father-daughter duo had earlier sought a seven-day exemption, stating they wanted to be in court when the judgment was announced. However, the plea was dismissed and the verdict was announced in their absence. </s> Former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif has been sentenced to 10 years in jail for corruption, while his daughter Maryam Sharif has been given seven years. The verdict was delivered by an accountability court in Pakistan in one of the four cases of corruption against Nawaz Sharif - the Avenfield corruption case, which is related to the ownership of four flats in the posh Avenfield House in London.

"(Nawaz Sharif) has been awarded 10 years imprisonment" over the purchase of high-end properties in London, defence lawyer Mohammad Aurangzeb told news agency AFP. Prosecution lawyer Sardar Muzaffar Abbas also said that the court had ordered the properties be confiscated.

The verdict comes three weeks before general elections in Pakistan on July 25.

Both Nawaz Sharif and Maryam are in London, attending to the former PM's wife, Kulsoom Nawaz, who was diagnosed with throat cancer last year and shifted to the UK for treatment. Since then, Maryam and Nawaz Sharif have made several trips back and forth from London to attend the hearings and attend to Kulsoom.

Nawaz Sharif wanted the announcement of the verdict delayed by a week, but that request was dismissed by the court today. Mr Sharif had said he wanted to hear the judgement of the case while standing in the courtroom where he "endured more than 100 hearings" with his daughter.

Nawaz Sharif and Maryam were also fined heavily by the court. While Nawaz Sharif will have to pay $10 million, his daughter has been fined $2.6 million.

The Avenfield case was among the four corruption cases filed against the former PM and his children by the NAB on the Supreme Court's orders in the Panama Papers case which disqualified Nawaz Sharif.

Nawaz Sharif, a three-time prime minister, resigned from the post last year after Pakistan's Supreme Court disqualified him from holding public office and ruled that graft cases be filed against him and his children over the Panama Papers scandal. </s> In a major blow to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN), the Accountability Court on Sunday convicted former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to 10 years of imprisonment and slapped a fine worth €8 million, while daughter Maryam Nawaz was handed seven years of jail term in the Avenfield reference corruption case. The verdict was part of the Avenfield properties reference case filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). Alongwith Sharif, his son-in-law Capt (retd) Safdar was given a one year sentence.

After the disqualification of Nawaz Sharif as Pakistan’s prime minister in the Panama case in July 2017, the NAB, filed three corruption references against the Sharif family. The Avenfield reference pertains to the purchase of four flats in Avenfield House, Park Lane, London. Along with the former Pakistani premiere, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law Capt Safdar was also named in the case. According to Dawn, the NAB prosecutor had stated before the accountability court that Nawaz Sharif had acquired the four flats. However, the Sharif family insisted that the flats were purchased through legitimately. Nawaz Sharif conviction LIVE updates

The Sharif family, however, failed to declare the financial resources with which they claimed to have purchased the flats. According to the JIT report submitted in the Panamagate case, the Sharifs have given contradictory statements about their London flats and found that the flats actually belonged to them since 1993. The report said Hassan Nawaz had contradicted the statement of his brother Hussain Nawaz about the Avenfield apartments, who had earlier stated that only apartment No 17 was in his possession in 1994. Contrarily, Hassan confirmed that three Avenfield apartments (No 16, 16A and 17) were already in possession of Hussain when he had arrived in London in 1994, while they got the possession of the fourth apartment (17A) in the next six months, Dawn reported.

The JIT in its observation concluded that either one or both the brothers were lying in the matter.

With the conviction of both Maryam Nawaz and Capt Safdar in the case, they stand debarred from contesting the upcoming Parliamentary elections in Pakistan which will dampen the hopes of PMLN which was planning to make a comeback to power.

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In the Avenfield corruption case, the court announced a 10 year sentence and 8 million pound fine for the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif. His daughter and political heir, Maryam Nawaz, was sentenced to 7 years imprisonment and a 2 million pound fine. Sharif's son-in-law, Muhammad Safdar Awan, received a one-year sentence.