Will celebrate when Nawaz returns home, Maryam on SC verdict

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LAHORE: Maryam Nawaz has expressed joy over the Supreme Court’s (SC) decision to uphold the Islamabad High Court (IHC) verdict that had ordered the suspension of sentences awarded to the Sharif family in the Avenfield corruption reference.

“I am thankful to Allah Almighty for today’s decision,” she tweeted on Monday.

The former PM’s daughter, however, added that she will celebrate in true sense when her father “comes back home”.

The apex court rejected the appeal filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) against the high court judgement.

The anti-corruption watchdog had challenged the IHC’s September 2018 order, and requested the apex court not only to set aside the order but also to direct the appellate court to take up the appeals for hearing.

After almost 10 months of continuous trial, an accountability court in July 2018 found former premier and two family members guilty in the Avenfield Apartments reference.

The court sentenced Sharif to 10 years, Maryam seven years, and son-in-law, Captain (retd) Muhammad Safdar, to one-year rigorous imprisonment.

After the IHC order, the ousted PM, Maryam and Safdar were released on bail from Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail.

NAB had filed three corruption references against the Sharif family on the top court’s directives in the landmark July 28, 2017 Panama Papers verdict, which deseated Nawaz as the prime minister.