Former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam will remain in jail until the elections on July 25.
A Pakistani court on Tuesday (17) adjourned until last week of July the hearing of appeals filed by Nawaz Sharif, his daughter and son-in-law against their conviction in a corruption case. Nawaz's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz had banked on his early release to boost their prospects in the upcoming elections.
Nawaz and Maryam, who were held guilty by an accountability court over the possession of luxury flats in London, were arrested in Lahore on July 13. Nawaz has been sentenced to 10 years in prison and his daughter was handed a seven year sentence.
Before his arrest, Nawaz said he was ready to return to Pakistan so as to mobilise his party men. "I know that I will be directly taken to jail," he said in a video. "I want to tell Pakistanis I have been doing this for you... Walk with me, join hands with me and change the destination of the country," he said.
Nawaz is lodged in the high-security Adiala prison in Rawalpindi, and his brother Shahbaz claims that the former prime minister is being kept in “abysmal conditions.”
In a letter written to Hasan Askari Rizvi, the caretaker chief minister of Punjab, Shahbaz claims that Nawaz has been denied a newspaper and a bed and is being forced to use a dirty washroom.
Shahbaz paid his brother a visit on Saturday (14).
“I want to draw your attention to the abysmal conditions under which Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, former Prime Minister of Pakistan, is languishing in the high-security Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi,” he wrote, reported news agency PTI.
“It was noted during my visit that Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif was not even given a newspaper to read, his mattress was on the floor and the washroom at his disposal was in a dirty despicable condition, with no air conditioner in his room,” the letter said.
Nawaz is a heart and diabetic patient and the medical facility at Adiala prison is not up to the mark, added Shahbaz, who is also president of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz.
“It is very unfortunate that Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, three time Prime Minister of Pakistan, is being treated in such a shabby manner. This situation is unacceptable given the minimum facilities he is entitled to as former Prime Minister,” he wrote.
Shahbaz has requested that Nawaz be granted access to his personal doctor who could visit him twice a day to administer medicine.
