LAHORE (Web Desk) – Welcoming the Islamabad High Court’s decision to grant protective bail, PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday said the disqualification of Nawaz Sharif, an elected prime minister, was based on a fictitious and fabricated story.
In a post shared on social media website X, formerly known as Twitter, he said the elder Sharif was implicated in absurd cases and subjected to mistreatment.
“Any fair hearing would establish his innocence,” said Shehbaz who himself served as a prime minister during a 16-month stint while leading a coalition government comprising the PDM’s member parties and the PPP.
“Bail is fundamental right, and we welcome the IHC [Islamabad High Court] decision in this regard, hoping that justice will prevail,” the PML-N stressed.
The latest remarks about “justice” came as Nawaz obtained protective bail from the IHC in the Avenfield and Al-Azizia references till Oct 24 before his return to Pakistan on Saturday (Oct 21).
In this connection, former law minister Lawyer Azam Nazeer, who appeared before the IHC on behalf of Nawaz, told reporters in Islamabad that the former prime minister had been granted protective bail, under which authorities could not arrest him until he himself appears before a court on Oct 24.
He was convicted on corruption charges, which he denied, in two cases in 2018. A court allowed him to travel to London for medical treatment in 2019.
Tarar said the elder Sharif would follow up appeals against his convictions, which have been pending since he left, in the hope of overturning them and campaigning for a general election scheduled for early next year.
Upon his return on Saturday, he would address a rally in his old stronghold of Lahore, Tarar said, adding, "It is everyone's constitutional rights to freely do political activities."