Court overturns conviction of former Pakistani premier Nawaz Sharif ahead of parliamentary election

By MUNIR AHMED
Associated Press

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A Pakistani court has overturned the 2018 conviction of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in a graft case, clearing his path to run in the parliamentary election set to be held in February. The Islamabad High Court announced its verdict after hearing Sharif’s appeal for weeks. The same court acquitted Sharif in another graft case on Nov. 29. Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League party welcomed the verdict, saying the country’s three-time former premier was exonerated and could run in the coming election. In 2018, an anti-graft tribunal sentenced Sharif to seven years and 10 years in prison in two cases filed against him. He returned to Pakistan in October, after four years of self-exile abroad.