Sharifs' five-day parole ends at 4pm today

LAHORE: The five-day parole granted to former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz, and son-in-law Captain (retd) Safdar will end at 4pm today. 

Sharif along with his daughter and son-in-law was released on the parole on Sept 12 to attend the funeral of his wife Begum Kusloom Nawaz who died in London last week.

Reports say Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president Shehbaz Sharif has been making efforts to get another extension in their parole until Begum Kulsoom’s chehlum.

However, a PML-N leader denied that the Sharif family will request the government to extend the parole for another time.

He hoped the government will itself grant an extension in their parole on humanitarian grounds.

The incarcerated PML-N leaders were first released for 12 hours from Adiala jail but later the parole was extended for five days on the Sharif family’s request.

The Sharif family had sought a five-day parole for their family members who have been serving sentences at Adiala Jail. Nawaz, Maryam and Capt (retd) Safdar were escorted by police from Adiala Jail to the Nur Khan Airbase from where they were brought to Lahore via special flight at 2:30 am on Wednesday.

Kulsoom Nawaz breathed her last at a hospital in London after a prolonged illness.

Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and her spouse Safdar, were convicted by an accountability court in the Avenfield reference case on July 6. Nawaz Sharif was sentenced to ten years in prison, while Maryam was imprisoned for seven years.

Sharif returned from Britain on July 13 after an anti-corruption court handed him a 10-year jail term and sentenced his daughter and political heir to seven years in prison over the purchase of luxury flats in London in the 1990s.

They were jailed in a case stemming from 2016 Panama Papers revelations that showed they owned the apartments through off-shore companies. Maryam was convicted for concealing ownership of the apartments.