World News | Pak court acquits ex-PM Nawaz Sharif, 37, in ‘bribery’ case

Lahore, June 24 (PTI) — A Pakistani court on Saturday acquitted former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in a 37-year-old case related to his alleged transfer of “valuable state land ” transfer to one of the country’s leading media companies as a “bribe”. “.

The court ruling comes days after the federal government of Nawaz Sharif’s younger brother, Prime Minister Sheikh Baz Sharif, made a major change to the law to lift a lifetime ban on politicians.

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Nawaz Sharif was disqualified by the Supreme Court in 2017. He was banned from public office for life following a 2018 Supreme Court decision in the Panama Papers case.

“The Lahore Accountability Court acquitted three-time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in connection with the illegal transfer of precious state land at 54 Canals (6.75 acres) to Lahore-based Jang/Geo Media Group owner Mir Shakil-ur- Rehman, when he was prime minister. 37 years ago, chief minister of Punjab,” a court official told PTI.

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“The National Anti-Corruption Agency (National Accountability Authority) informed the court that the recent (coalition government led by Shebaz Sharif) change to its law, the case is not at the pre-trial stage, after which Rao Abdul Judge Kareem acquitted him,” the official said.

The court has acquitted Mir Shakil-ur-Rehman in this case.

An earlier charge sheet by NAB accused Nawaz Sharif (chairman of the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) in 1986) of abusing his power by granting waivers for 54 precious parcels of land, each measuring a canal, for Ray Hermann offers an improper advantage. Table) is located on the banks of the H-Block Canal in MA Jauhar Township, Lahore.

Nawaz Sharif, the supreme leader of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), has been living in self-imposed exile in the UK since November 2019.

Sharif is serving seven years in the Azizia Mills corruption case before the Lahore High Court granted four rounds of bail on medical grounds to travel to London.

Pakistan Justice Instigation (PTI) chairman and ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan has claimed that former army chief General Kamal Javed Bajwa plotted to remove Sharif from prison and later reached a deal with him protocol.

PML-N has said its top leader will return to Pakistan once the election date is announced.

The country’s elections will be held in October after the current government’s term ends on 13 August.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a syndicated news feed, the latest staff may not have modified or edited the body of content)