Ex-Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif gets temporary release for wife's funeral
Sharif and his daughter Maryam were jailed over undeclared income and the ownership of luxury flats in London in the 1990s.
Wednesday 12 September 2018 14:30, UK
Former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif has been temporarily released from prison to attend his wife's funeral in London.
Sharif and his daughter Maryam were jailed over undeclared income and the ownership of luxury flats in London in the 1990s.
Sharif was sentenced to 10 years while his daughter was given seven years. She has also been released for the funeral.
Both have said they broke no law and there was no proof the residences were purchased with money from corruption.
Kulsoom Nawaz died from throat cancer on Tuesday after being in a coma for several months.
She underwent surgery last year but her condition continued to deteriorate.
Her body is due to be flown from London to Pakistan on Thursday.
Sharif and his daughter left her bedside in July to return to Pakistan to rally their followers ahead of the general election.
Both were arrested on arrival and have been imprisoned since.
"Initially, we released them on parole for 12 hours but the application they have given to the Punjab government is for five days and we are considering it," provincial law minister Muhammad Raja Basharat said.
Soon after the announcement of his wife's death, Pakistani TV showed Sharif's two sons and other relatives receiving condolences outside a London hospital.
Newly-elected prime minister Imran Khan, a former cricket hero and protester against Sharif, sent his condolences on Tuesday saying: "Ms Kulsoom Nawaz was a brave woman."
A statement issued by his office added: "The Pakistan High Commission in the UK has been directed to provide all the possible assistance to facilitate to heirs of Mrs Kulsoom Nawaz."
Sharif served as leader for three terms - 1990-1993, 1997-1999 and 2013-2017. He was removed from office in 2017 following revelations which emerged in the Panama Papers and was disqualified from holding public office for life the following year.
He was jailed alongside his daughter in July over the undeclared income.
Sharif claims it is a part of a plot set up against him by the judiciary and the military.