Caretaker Punjab government on Tuesday suspended sentence awarded to former prime minister and PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif in Al-Azizia reference. According to media reports, Nawaz Sharif was convicted by accountability courts in Avenfield and Al-Azizia references. The accountability court had awarded 10-year jail term with eight million Pounds fine to Nawaz Sharif in the Avenfield case and a 07-year sentence in Al-Azizia reference.

However, in 2019, his sentence in the Al-Azizia reference was suspended by the Lahore High Court (LHC) on medical grounds. He was then permitted to fly to London on medical grounds. Sources privy to the development said that the caretaker Punjab cabinet suspended the sentence of Nawaz Sharif under Criminal Procedural Code Section 401.

According to Section 401 of the Criminal Procedural Code, the government reserves the right to suspend the sentence of the convict. The former three-time premier landed in Pakistan on Saturday (October 21) after ending his self-exile of four years. He was accorded a warm welcome by the PML-N and addressed a huge public gathering at Minar-e-Pakistan to reveal his plan of steering Pakistan out of crises.

 
Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)