Ex-Pakistani PM Sharif shifted back to jail

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan

Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was shifted back to jail together with his daughter and son-in-law on Monday, ending the parole he was granted to attend his wife’s funeral, local media reported.

The three-time premier along with his daughter and political heir Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law, Capt. Mohammad Safdar, had been released for five days to attend the funeral of his wife, Begum Kulsoom Nawaz, in the northeastern city of Lahore.

The former first lady died last week in a London hospital after a protracted battle with cancer.

Footage on local broadcaster ARY News showed a security convoy, including a bulletproof vehicle, carrying Sharif and others moving to the Allama Iqbal International Airport Lahore, from where they were airlifted to Adiala jail Rawalpindi.

Sharif, his daughter and son-in-law are currently serving jail terms in a corruption case. However, Sharif’s supporters have alleged a judicial-army nexus behind their conviction.

Earlier, Sharif who served as premier from 1990 to 1992, 1997 to 1999, and 2013 to 2017, was disqualified by the country’s top court in the whistle-blower Panama Papers scandal.