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Metropolis Desk-
In a case, that dates back 37 years and claimed that the former prime minister gave one of the country’s top media moguls “precious state land” in the capital of Punjab province as a “bribe,” Nawaz Sharif was cleared by a Pakistani accountability court.
The decision on Saturday came after the federal government, led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the younger sibling of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Nawaz Sharif, enacted significant legal changes that allowed politicians to be no longer barred from holding public office for life.
Due to his acquittal, the 73-year-old, three-time former prime minister may run for and lead PML-N in the upcoming general election.
The Supreme Court declared Mr. Nawaz Sharif ineligible in 2017. After the Supreme Court’s decision in the Panama Papers case in 2018, he lost his ability to serve in public office for the rest of his life.
In a case involving the unauthorized transfer of 6.75 acres of priceless state land to Mir Shakil-ur-Rehman, owner of the Jang/Geo media group, in Lahore when Nawaz Sharif was the chief minister of Punjab 37 years ago, a Lahore court, according to a court official, found Nawaz Sharif not guilty.
The nation’s anti-graft agency, the National Accountability Bureau, informed the court that the case does not fall under its purview as a result of recent revisions to its law (by the Shehbaz Sharif-led coalition government), the official said. “Judge Rao Abdul Jabbar acquitted him,” the person said.
The attorney for the former prime minister argued that NAB’s actions in bringing the case against his client, who was not involved in plot allotment, were motivated by malice.
Shakil-ur-Rehman has previously been declared innocent by the court. He said that the main accused’s acquittal demonstrated there had been no crime committed.
After the primary accused was cleared, he stated it was useless to continue the case against any other accused, including a proclaimed offender.
The judge accepted the defense counsel’s arguments and cleared Mr. Nawaz Sharif of the charges.
In a previous charge sheet, Nawaz Sharif was charged with abusing his power and giving Rehman an unfair advantage by approving the exemption of 54 priceless plots measuring one kanal each in a single block (compact form) located at canal bank H- Block of M A Jauhar Town, Lahore. At the time, Nawaz Sharif was also the chairman of Lahore Development (LDA).
The NAB claimed that by allocating the land, the accused caused a loss of Rs 143 million to the national exchequer.
Since November 2019, Mr. Nawaz Sharif, the supreme leader of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), has been residing in self-exile in the United Kingdom.
Sharif was incarcerated for seven years in the Al-Azizia Mills corruption case before traveling to London on a four-week medical bail granted by the Lahore High Court.
Imran Khan, the leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), and the former prime minister claimed that Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, the previous commander of the army, had orchestrated Sharif’s release from prison and afterward made a deal with him.
As soon as the date of the general elections is announced, the PML-N claims that its supreme leader would return to Pakistan. The country will have elections in October because the current administration’s term ends on August 13.
Source- The Hindu
