Nawaz Sharif's Day 4 in Pakistan spent in court for hearing on pending cases

Three days after he finally returned to Pakistan from self-exile in London, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday appeared at a local court in connection with the corruption cases against him. Sharif, 73, the three-time prime minister and supremo of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), returned to Pakistan on Saturday. Following his four-year-long absence, the court cases against him are set to resume. Sharif went to the Islamabad-based Accountability Court of Judge Muhammad Bashir who had earlier temporarily suspended his arrest orders in the Toshakhana case to allow him to return to Pakistan. His appearance to the court showed that he had surrendered before it. He was later allowed to level after the judge witnessed his presence in the courtroom. Bashir is the same judge who convicted him in the Avenfield case. The court had suspended Sharif’s arrest warrant until Tuesday. Along with Sharif, Pakistan People’s Party Co-chairman Asif Zardari and former premier Yusuf Raza Gilani are co-accused in the case. Sharif is also slated to appear before the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in relation to two other cases: Avenfield and Al-Azizia cases. Earlier today, Sharif’s counsel Qazi Misbah in the Toshakhana case filed three different applications in the accountability court, which include the restoration of the PML-N supremo’s annexed property in the case; appointment of Sharif’s pleader in the case; and an application to submit the politician’s bail bonds. With inputs from PTI