The Pakistan Supreme Court on Friday rejected former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s petitions seeking an extension in his six-week bail in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills case, and permission for medical treatment in the United Kingdom. His bail expires on May 7.
Nawaz Sharif, 69, was granted a six-week interim bail by the court for medical treatment in March. Last month, he filed the petition for permanent bail, stating that he was suffering from anxiety and depression that may have led to “sudden death”.
Nawaz, thrice the prime minister of Pakistan, had been in jail since December 2018 following his conviction in Al Azizia corruption reference in line with the Supreme Court’s July 2017 verdict. An accountability court on December 24 had found the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader guilty in the Al Azizia Steel Mills reference and sentenced him to seven years in prison.
He has been lodged in the Lahore Kot Lakhpat Jail since his conviction. He was removed from power in 2017 by Pakistan’s Supreme Court amidst hearings of corruption charges against him, which stem from the Panama Papers scandal.
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