Nawaz Sharif's sons' arrest warrants in Panama Papers scandal-linked cases cancelled

Islamabad: In a major relief to ex-Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif's family, an anti-corruption court on Thursday cancelled the permanent arrest warrants against his two sons, who recently returned from the UK after a seven-year self-imposed exile.

Hassan Nawaz and Hussain Nawaz left the country in 2018 after they were named in the 2016 Panama Papers scandal.

They faced charges in three corruption cases related to the Panama Papers but never appeared before the courts, which declared them absconders.

The brothers returned to Pakistan on Tuesday after an Islamabad anti-corruption court on March 7 suspended the perpetual arrest warrants against the two until Thursday, clearing the last hurdle for their safe return to the country.

On Thursday, Hassan and Hussain appeared at the Islamabad-based Accountability Court, which, after hearing the arguments, cancelled the permanent arrest warrant issued in the Flagship, Al-Azizia and Avenfield corruption cases.

The court also approved their bail against a surety bond worth Rs 50,000 each.

Both sons of the former prime minister also applied for exemption from attending court on the next hearing. The court adjourned the hearing till Friday.

The brothers, who are British nationals, were implicated in the cases in 2018 along with their father, Nawaz Sharif, sister Maryam Nawaz and her husband, Muhammad Safdar.

Nawaz Sharif, Maryam and Safdar were convicted in the Avenfield while the three-time former premier was also convicted in the Al-Azizia cases and acquitted in the Flagship case.

All of them separately challenged convictions in the Islamabad High Court. Maryam and Safdar were the first to get relief in 2022 when they were acquitted while Nawaz Sharif was still living in London. Last year, he returned and, after brief proceedings, was acquitted in all cases.

After their acquittal, only the two brothers were required to face the courts, as they were not formally tried due to their absence. Like their father, the two brothers are likely to get acquitted in all three cases as the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), which had instituted these cases against them, has given them a clean chit.

Since the Sharif family and their party -- the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) -- are being patronaged by the current military establishment, all the cases against them have either been closed or acquitted.

In October last year, Nawaz Sharif returned to Pakistan after a four-year self-imposed exile in the UK, and after brief proceedings, he was acquitted in all cases.

His younger brother, Shehbaz Sharif, was elected as Pakistan's prime minister for a second time after the PML-N and the Pakistan Peoples Party agreed on a power-sharing deal to form a coalition government.

Maryam, the 50-year-old daughter of Nawaz Sharif, took oath as the first-ever woman chief minister of Pakistan's most populous and politically crucial Punjab province on February 26.