Former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Saturday was shifted to a hospital in Lahore from the prison where he is serving a seven-year jail term in a corruption case, reported The Express Tribune.
Sharif was moved to the hospital after the Punjab government gave its consent to a medical board’s recommendation to shift him to a hospital as he suffered from “multiple health issues”, Dawn reported. The Punjab government, in a notification, said Sharif will remain in the hospital till his medical tests are carried out.
Sharif’s daughter, Maryam Nawaz Sharif, tweeted that she had been told that Sharif was taken to a hospital.
Last month, a court in Pakistan had sentenced Sharif to seven years in jail and fined him $2.5 million (approximately Rs 17.5 crore) in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills corruption case. Sharif is serving the jail term in Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat jail.
The Avenfield and Al-Azizia Steel Mills cases were among three cases filed by the National Accountability Bureau against Sharif and his children in September 2017 – the third being the Flagship Investment case in which the former prime minister was acquitted.
In July 2018, a lower court had sentenced Sharif to 10 years in jail, Maryam Nawaz to seven years and Safdar to a year in prison in the Avenfield case, but in September, the Islamabad High Court ordered their release and suspended their jail terms.
The bureau had filed the cases on the basis of the Supreme Court’s orders in its July 2017 Panamagate verdict, which had disqualified Sharif from the post of prime minister.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!