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Pakistan Govt Releases 350 Activists of Banned Islamist Group to Resolve Tense Standoff

Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan has been protesting against caricatures of the Prophet published in France.

Lahore: The Pakistan government on Monday released 350 activists of the banned outfit Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid has announced, as the radical Islamist party issued a two-day deadline for the release of their party chief Saad Rizvi and expel the French ambassador.

Opposition parties have termed the move as ‘total surrender’ to the TLP’s demands. We have released 350 TLP workers up to now and we are waiting to open both sides of the road of Muridke as per the decision with the TLP, Rashid said in a tweet.

Some 350 activists of TLP walked free on Monday from different police stations of Lahore. They were detained during the protests last week. We have not yet booked them under any charges and produced before a court of law, a Punjab police officer told PTI on Monday.

More than 10,000 Islamists are currently camped between Muridke and Gujranwala along the GT Road, a 35km to 80km stretch from Lahore and handed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government with a two-day ultimatum to release their party chief Rizvi and expel the French ambassador or face sit-in in Islamabad.

TLP’s founder late Khadim Rizvi’s son Saad Hussain Rizvi has been detained by the Punjab government since April last under the maintenance of ‘public order’ (MPO) following the party’s protest against the blasphemous caricatures of Islam’s Prophet published in France and its demand that the French ambassador be sent back and import of goods from that country be banned.

Subsequently, the TLP agreed to call off protests across the country on the Pakistan government’s assurance that it would present a resolution on the expulsion of the French ambassador in the National Assembly.

However, the government had called the National Assembly session to debate the French envoy’s expulsion and before a vote could take place on the resolution, the speaker announced the formation of a special committee to discuss the matter and asked the government and the opposition to engage with each other to develop consensus on the issue.

No meeting of this special committee has been held since April.

Rashid has said that the protesters have agreed not to march towards Islamabad and they will be camped between Muridke and Gujranwala along the GT Road till Wednesday.

In a statement issued on Sunday, the TLP had said: “The government has sought a time from us till Tuesday to implement the agreement with us (to expel the French envoy) and release of our leaders and workers including the party chief Saad Rizvi. Besides, the government will quash all illegal FIRs against our workers and leaders. Our protest march will only end after acceptance of our demands”.

Rashid told the media in Islamabad that the demands of the TLP will be presented before Prime Minister Imran Khan on his return from Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.

Also Read: Pakistan PM Highlights Need for Improving Ties With India, Cracks Joke on T20 Match

The government has also assured the TLP leaders of reviewing the Fourth Schedule (terrorism sections) list containing their names and working on a plan to release their jailed chief Saad Rizvi, Rashid said, before adding that the matter of banning TLP would also be discussed with the premier besides taking the matter of expulsion of French envoy in Parliament.

When asked about Opposition parties terming the government’s move as ‘total surrender’ to TLP’s demands, Rashid said: “The state is finding a path of reconciliation. I had two meetings with TLP chief Saad Hussain Rizvi at Kot Lakhpat jail and told him that the government would act on the agreement signed with the group in November 2020”.

The Opposition parties and the proscribed outfit had staged separate protests in multiple cities of the country, resulting in Islamabad, Lahore and Rawalpindi being partially shut down.

Three policemen and seven TLP workers have died in the clashes that erupted on Wednesday.

Police in Gujranwala had dug up a 12-foot-deep ditch and filled it with water to prevent TLP workers from heading towards Islamabad.

The Islamists plan to stage a sit-in at Faizabad Interchange. Police have placed containers on main arteries at twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

Rashid has directed the administrations of Rawalpindi and Islamabad to remove all the containers placed at entry and exit points of the twin cities.

(PTI)

Mumbai Attack Mastermind Zaki-Ur-Rehman Lakhvi Sentenced to 15 Years Jail in Pakistan

UN proscribed terrorist Lakhvi, who was on bail since 2015 in the Mumbai attack case, was arrested by the counter-terrorism department of Punjab province on Saturday.

Lahore: Mumbai attack mastermind and Lashkar-e-Tayyaba operations commander Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi was sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment by a Pakistani anti-terrorism court in Lahore in a terror financing case on Friday.

UN proscribed terrorist Lakhvi, 61, who was on bail since 2015 in the Mumbai attack case, was arrested by the counter-terrorism department (CTD) of Punjab province on Saturday.

“The anti-terrorism court (ATC) Lahore convicted Lakhvi for commission of offences of terrorism financing in a case registered by the CTD for 15 years under different sections of the anti-terrorism Act, 1997, a court official told PTI after the hearing.

Judge Ejaz Ahmad Buttar sentenced Lakhvi to five years of rigorous imprisonment each on three counts with a fine of PKR 100,000 each on three counts. “In default of payment of fine, he will have to undergo an imprisonment of six months each on three counts. He has been sent to prison to serve the sentences, the official said.

Lakhvi pleaded before the court that he was falsely implicated in this case.

(PTI)

Pakistan Opposition Alliance PDM to Stage Its Final Rally in Lahore

The rally will be addressed by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif from London, his daughter Maryam Nawaz, PDM head Maulana Fazlur Rehman and PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

Lahore: The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), an 11-party Opposition alliance seeking the ouster of “puppet” Prime Minister Imran Khan, is set to hold its final rally here on Sunday, despite a ban on the gathering of more than 300 people owing to an increase in COVID-19 cases across the country.

A number of workers of the PDM have reached Minar-i-Pakistan. They broke the locks of its main gate, placed chairs and have installed lights for Sunday’s much-hyped power show of the Opposition.

The rally will be addressed by former prime minister and PML-N supreme leader Nawaz Sharif from London, his daughter Maryam Nawaz, Jamiat Ulema Islam chief and PDM head Maulana Fazlur Rehman and PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

“The government has not given permission to the PDM to hold a rally at Minar-e-Pakistan Lahore because of the rise in COVID-19 cases. Action will be taken against those who will take the law into their hands,” Punjab law minister Basharat Raja said.

So far, police in Lahore have booked more than 3,000 workers of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) for violating COVID-19 protocols during this week’s meetings held here by its vice-president Maryam, he said.

PDM’s Minar-e-Pakistan public meeting will be the last one in its first phase of rallies that had begun over two months ago.

The PDM will announce the ‘decisive phase’ of its struggle against Prime Minister Khan’s government in this public meeting. The alliance has already announced that all Opposition parties will resign from the national and provincial assemblies to pressure the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government for fresh elections.

The long march towards Islamabad is also on the cards for the PDM.

Punjab chief minister Usman Buzdar has asked the PDM to delay its Minar-e-Pakistan rally in light of ‘terror threat alerts’ and the coronavirus situation.

“I ask the Opposition to resolve issues through talks. Discuss their issues through dialogue and not by playing with people’s lives,” Buzdar said.

“The current coronavirus situation in Lahore is very grave and the positivity rate of coronavirus is more than 46 per cent and the Opposition should realise this,” he said.

Special assistant to the chief minister on information Firdous Ashiq Awan said in a tweet the government had intelligence reports that there was a threat to the PDM rally.

“If any untoward incident takes place at the PDM rally, the Opposition parties will be responsible,” she warned.

The Lahore police have also alerted Bilawal and Maryam about the threat alerts.

Maryam declared that Prime Minister Khan will be sent home in January in the wake of PDM’s protest movement.

In previous speeches from London former premier Sharif had taken on the Pakistan Army and the ISI chiefs for their role in imposing “puppet” Prime Minister Khan on the nation and ending his government.

The PDM has been formed against the Pakistan Army’s interference in politics and installing “puppet” Prime Minister Khan through a manipulated election.

(PTI)

Pak Court Jails Spokesperson of Hafiz Saeed-Led JuD in Terror Financing Cases

The Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) here also convicted two other JuD leaders, including the brother-in-law of Saeed.

Lahore: Pakistani anti-terrorism court on Wednesday handed down 32 years imprisonment to the spokesperson of Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed’s Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD) terror group in two terror financing cases.

The Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) here also convicted two other JuD leaders, including the brother-in-law of Saeed, in terror financing cases.

“ATC Judge Ijaz Ahmad Buttar handed down 32 years imprisonment to JuD spokesperson Yahya Mujahid in two FIRs. Prof Zafar Iqbal and Prof Hafiz Abdul Rehman Makki (brother-in-law of Saeed) were awarded 16 and one-year jail terms in two cases,” a court official told PTI.

He said that the two other JuD leaders – Abdul Salam bin Muhammad and Luqman Shah – were indicted in more terror financing cases.

The court directed the prosecution to present its witnesses on November 16.

The suspects were presented in the court in high security and media was not allowed to enter the court premises during the case proceedings.

Last week, the ATC Lahore convicted JuD’s Hafiz Abdul Rehman Makki, Zafar Iqbal and Muhammad Ashraf in two more cases of terror financing registered by the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) of Punjab police.

Zafar Iqbal and Muhammad Ashraf have been given a collective imprisonment of 16 years each under different sections of the Anti-Terrorism Act.

Makki has been sentenced to one-year imprisonment in a case with a fine of Rs 170,000.

In September last year, the ATC Lahore handed down over 16 years imprisonment to Prof Zafar Iqbal and Hafiz Abdus Salam bin Muhammad and one-and-a-half-year sentence to Makki in a terror financing case.

In February last year, Saeed had been sentenced to jail for 11 years on terror finance charges by an ATC in Lahore.

The ATC sentenced Saeed and his close aide Zafar Iqbal to five-and-a-half years each in two cases. A total of 11 years sentence will run concurrently. Saeed is serving his term in Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat jail. He was arrested in July last year.

The CTD of Punjab police had registered 23 FIRs against Saeed and his accomplices on the charges of terror financing in different cities of the province.

Saeed-led JuD is the front organisation for Lashkar-e-Taiba which is responsible for carrying out the 2008 Mumbai attack that killed 166 people, including six Americans.

The US named Saeed as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, and the US, since 2012, has offered a USD 10-million reward for information that brings Saeed to justice.

He was listed as a terrorist under the UN Security Council Resolution 1267 in December 2008.

(PTI)

Pakistan: Nawaz Sharif’s Brother, Nephew Indicted in Money Laundering Case

Shahbaz Sharif is Pakistan’s opposition leader and president of the PLM-N.

Lahore: Pakistan’s Opposition leader and PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif and his son Hamza were indicted in a money laundering case by an accountability court here on Wednesday.

The country’s anti-graft body, National Accountability Bureau (NAB), framed the charges against Shahbaz, who is the younger brother of deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif, and Opposition leader in Punjab Assembly Hamza in the accountability court of Judge Jawadul Hasan.

Both the father and son have denied the charges and pleaded for innocence.

Shahbaz told the court that his political opponents, referring Prime Minister Imran Khan, had instituted false cases against him and his family members.

“I had saved only Rupees 81 billion from the Lahore metro train project and in 10 years as chief minister of Punjab I saved trillions of rupees in different development projects. If a single rupee corruption is proved against me even after my death, take me out of the grave and hang me, he said.

He said the NAB was being used for political engineering against the Opposition.

“NAB has yet to bring forth any evidence against me and my family members, Shahbaz said and informed the court that he had severe backache, but the jail authorities ignored this and brought him to the court in an armoured car.

“They enjoy giving me pain,” he said.

The court asked the NAB to produce prosecution witnesses in the next hearing on November 26. The NAB had arrested Shahbaz in the last week of September. He is lodged at the Kot Lakhpat jail in Lahore along with his son.

The NAB said that Shahbaz’s assets between 2008-2018 had grown multifold. It said Shahbaz could not explain to the NAB as to how he was able to buy four apartments in London and had not shared when his business had started and its income.

Shahbaz is a beneficiary of assets held in the name of his family members and benamidars (unknown persons) who had no sources to acquire such assets, it said.

“Shahbaz and his family members committed offences of corruption and corrupt practices as envisaged under the provisions of the National Accountability Ordinance 1999 and money laundering as delineated in the Anti-Money Laundering Act 2010,” the NAB said.

A total of 20 people have been named in the money laundering case. The main suspects are Shahbaz’s wife Nusrat, his sons Hamza and Suleman (absconder), and his daughters Rabia Imran and Javeria Ali.

According to the NAB, Shahbaz accumulated assets worth Rs 7,328 million in connivance with his co-accused family members, benamidars, front persons and close associates and developed an organised system of money laundering.

Shahbaz was arrested a few days after an alliance of 11 Opposition parties was formed to oust the “fake” government of Imran Khan.

Maryam Nawaz, daughter of Nawaz Sharif, had said Shahbaz was arrested only because he stood with his elder brother’s narrative.

Give respect to the ballot, she said, adding that there should be no interference of the Army in politics.

“If there were accountability and justice in this country, it’s not Shahbaz Sharif who would have been arrested but Lt Gen (R) Asim Bajwa and his family that made billions through corruption,” she said.

Nawaz, who has been in London for the last one year for his medical treatment recently launched a tirade against the Pakistan Army and ISI chiefs for ending his government and imposing “puppet” Imran Khan on the nation through a massively rigged 2018 polls.

(PTI)

Pak Court Indicts 4 Close Aides of JuD Chief Hafiz Saeed in Terror Financing Case

All the four accused, however, pleaded “not guilty” and chose to contest the trial.

Lahore: An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan on Tuesday indicted four top leaders of the banned Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD) and close aides of the 2008 Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed in a terror financing case.

The court indicted Hafiz Abdul Rehman Makki, Malik Zafar Iqbal, Yayha Aziz and Abdul Salam in one of the cases registered against them on terror financing charges.

All the four accused, however, pleaded “not guilty” and chose to contest the trial.

The court adjourned the proceedings till Wednesday, with direction to the prosecution to present witnesses against the suspects.

The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) of Punjab police had registered 23 FIRs against 70-year-old Saeed and his accomplices on the charges of terror financing in different cities of the province.

Saeed, a UN designated terrorist whom the US has placed a $10 million bounty on, was arrested on July 17, 2019 and is lodged at the high-security Kot Lakhpat jail here.

Saeed-led JuD is the front organisation for the Lashkar-e-Taiba which is responsible for carrying out the 2008 Mumbai attack that killed 166 people, including six Americans.

The US named Saeed as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, and the US, since 2012, has offered a $10 million reward for information that brings Saeed to justice. He was listed as a terrorist under the UN Security Council Resolution 1267 in December 2008.

In February, Lahore’s anti-terrorism court sentenced Saeed and his close aide Zafar Iqbal to five and a half years each and imposed a fine of Rs 15,000 in each case. A total of 11 years sentence will run concurrently.

The US welcomed the conviction of Saeed and described it as an “important step forward” for Pakistan in meeting its international commitments to combat terror financing and not to allow non-state actors to operate from its soil.

The crackdown on Saeed’s outfit last year followed a warning by the international terror financing watchdog to Pakistan to deliver on its commitments to curb terror financing and money laundering.

(PTI)

Pakistan Court Sentences Hafiz Saeed to 11 Years in Jail in Terror Financing Cases

The court sentenced Saeed to five and a half years and imposed a fine of Rs 15,000 in each case.

Lahore: Mumbai attack mastermind and Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed was on Wednesday sentenced to 11 years in jail by an anti-terrorism court in Pakistan in two terror financing cases.

Saeed, a UN-designated terrorist whom the US has placed a $ 10 million bounty on, was arrested on July 17 in the terror financing cases. He is lodged at the Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat jail in high security.

A court official confirmed to PTI that Saeed was sentenced in two terror financing cases registered against him in Lahore and Gujranwala cities on the application of the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) of Punjab police.

Also read: Hafiz Saeed Pleads Not Guilty in Terror Financing Cases: Court Official

The court sentenced Saeed to five and a half years and imposed a fine of Rs 15,000 in each case. The sentences of both cases will run concurrently.

The anti-terrorism court or ATC had indicted Saeed and his close aides on December 11 in the terror financing cases.

On last Saturday, Lahore ATC judge Arshad Hussain Bhutta deferred the verdict against Saeed in two terror financing cases till February 11.

In the two cases, the prosecution produced some 20 or so witnesses in the ATC who testified against Saeed and his close aides for their involvement in terror financing. Saeed pleaded “not guilty” in both cases.

The Counter-Terrorism Department had registered 23 FIRs against Saeed and his accomplices on the charges of terror financing in different cities of Punjab province.

The cases were registered against Saeed and others in Lahore, Gujranwala and Multan for collection of funds for terrorism financing through assets/properties made and held in the names of Trusts/Non-Profit Organisations including Al-Anfaal Trust, Dawatul Irshad Trust, Muaz Bin Jabal Trust, etc.

Also read: Pakistan Court Indicts Hafiz Saeed on Terror Financing Charges

According to the CTD, investigation launched into financing matters of proscribed organisations – JuD and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) – in connection with implementation of UN Sanctions against these Designated Entities and Persons as directed by NSC (National Security Committee) in its meeting of January 1, 2019, chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan for implementing the National Action Plan.

“These suspects made assets from funds of terrorism financing. They held and used these assets to raise more funds for further terrorism financing. Hence, they committed multiple offences of terrorism financing and money laundering under the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997. They will be prosecuted in ATCs (Anti Terrorism Courts) for a commission of these offences,” the CTD said.

The crackdown on Saeed’s outfit last year followed a warning by the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force to Pakistan to deliver on its commitments to curb terror financing and money laundering.

Saeed-led JuD is the front organisation for the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) which is responsible for carrying out the 2008 Mumbai attack that killed 166 people, including six Americans.

The US Department of the Treasury has designated Saeed as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, and the US, since 2012, has offered a USD 10 million reward for information that brings Saeed to justice. He was listed under the UN Security Council Resolution 1267 in December 2008.

(PTI)

Hafiz Saeed Pleads Not Guilty in Terror Financing Cases: Court Official

Pakistan’s Counter Terrorism Department had registered 23 FIRs against Saeed and his accomplices.

Lahore: Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed on Tuesday pleaded “not guilty” in two terror financing cases against him as the Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief recorded his statement in a Pakistani anti-terrorism court here, amidst mounting international pressure on Islamabad to rein in militant groups.

The Counter Terrorism Department had registered 23 FIRs against Saeed and his accomplices on the charges of terror financing in different cities of Punjab province and arrested him on July 17. He is held at the Kot Lakhpat jail in Lahore.

Saeed-led JuD is believed to be the front organisation for the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) which is responsible for carrying out the 2008 Mumbai attack that killed 166 people, including six Americans.

“In response to a questionnaire handed over to him by the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) Lahore regarding terror financing charges against him, Saeed on Tuesday submitted his reply in which he dismissed all charges against him. He pleaded not guilty,” a court official told PTI after the in-camera hearing.

The official said the ATC adjourned the hearing till Wednesday for final arguments.

The cases of terror financing have been registered against Saeed in Lahore and Gujranwala cities in Punjab province on the application of the Counter Terrorism Department of Punjab Police.

Saeed was produced at the ATC under tight security. Journalists were not allowed to enter the court premises for the coverage of the proceedings.

At the last hearing on January 13, Saeed’s counsel had requested the court for adjournment of the hearing against his client, saying that Saeed needed more time to record his statement.

On January 10, a questionnaire was handed over to Saeed by a Pakistani anti-terrorism court.

Deputy prosecution general Abdur Rauf had submitted the questionnaire for Saeed in the ATC which was handed over to him to reply.

Cross-examination of prosecution witnesses against the founder of the LeT and his three close aides by the defence counsel has already been concluded.

The prosecution had produced a number of witnesses against Saeed. The ATC indicted Saeed and others on December 11 in terror financing case.

Saeed’s indictment followed growing international pressure on Pakistan to stop militant groups from collecting funds in the country and to take immediate action against those still involved in militant activities.

The international terror financing watchdog FATF has decided to keep Pakistan on its ‘Grey’ list for failure to curb funnelling of funds to terror groups LeT, JeM and others.

The Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which kept Pakistan on the Grey List for an extended period till February 2020, had warned in October that Islamabad would be put on the Black List if it did not comply with the remaining 22 points in a list of 27 questions.

Saeed, a UN and US-designated terrorist, has a $10 million American bounty on his head.

Ailing Nawaz Sharif Turns Down Imran Govt’s Demand for Rs 700-Crore Surety Bonds for UK Travel

On December 24, 2018, an accountability court had sentenced Sharif to seven years in prison in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills corruption case.

Lahore: Pakistan’s ailing former prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday refused to meet Imran Khan government’s demand to submit indemnity bonds worth Rs 700 crores for travel to the UK for medical treatment, saying it was “illegal” and denounced attempts to politicise his health.

On Tuesday, Pakistan Cabinet decided to allow 69-year-old Sharif to go to the UK for medical treatment if the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo agrees to sign surety bonds making a commitment that he would return after the treatment and face corruption cases against him.

The Cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Khan, approved removal of Sharif’s name from the no-fly list (Exit Control List-ECL).

“We have categorically told the government that Sharif would not submit any indemnity bonds worth Rs 7 billion (Rs 700 crores) to the government for removing his name from the no-fly list enabling his departure for London for his treatment,” a PML-N leader quoted Sharif as saying.

Also read: Nawaz Sharif’s Condition Deteriorated Because He ‘Might Have Been Poisoned’: Son

“Nawaz Sharif said the government demand is illegal and can’t be met in the presence of the court guarantees.” Nawaz also showed his annoyance over the government’s ‘tactics’ to politicise the issue of his health.

“The government cannot hold another court of its own on the earlier decision of the Islamabad High Court that granted Sharif eight weeks bail on medical grounds,” the PML-N leader told PTI, adding the Sharif family may move the court for removal of his name from the ECL if the government did not decide in his favour on Wednesday.

“If something happens to Sharif, Imran Khan and company will be responsible as he is critical and government is using the opportunity for their dirty politics,” he said.

According to his party an air ambulance is arriving in Lahore on Wednesday to shift him to London if the government removes his name from the ECL.

Sharif is under treatment at his Lahore’s Jati Umra House. His platelet count is said to unstable and is critically low.

Sharif is suffering from multiple health complications, including erratic platelet count, and is currently being taken care at his residence near Lahore where an ICU has been set up.

Sharif agreed on Friday to go to the UK for treatment, heeding doctors’ advice and accepting his family’s request. He was scheduled to leave for London on a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight on Sunday morning. However, he could not leave as his name figured in the no fly-list.

The former prime minister was lodged in the Kot Lakhpat jail but last month he was sent to the custody of the NAB which is probing the Sharif family in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills corruption case.

On December 24, 2018, an accountability court had sentenced Sharif to seven years in prison in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills corruption case and acquitted him in the Flagship case.

On October 29, the Islamabad high court suspended Sharif’s sentence in the Al-Azizia corruption case for eight weeks on medical grounds.

The Sharif family has denied all corruption charges and termed them as politically motivated.

(PTI)

Lahore High Court Grants Bail to Nawaz Sharif on Medical Grounds

Khan has issued directives to keep Maryam Nawaz with her father Sharif at a leading hospital here after the federal government faced criticism for shifting her back to jail.

Lahore: A Pakistani court on Friday granted bail to jailed former prime minister Nawaz Sharif who was undergoing treatment after being diagnosed with an acute immune disorder.

The 69-year-old Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo was rushed to the Services Hospital in Lahore from the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) office late on Monday night after a massive drop in his platelet count.

A two-member bench of the Lahore high court (LHC), headed by justice Baqar Najafi, heard the petition of PML-N president Shahbaz Sharif seeking the release of his elder brother from the custody of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on medical grounds in the money laundering case and accepted it.

The three-time premier’s lawyer Ashtar Ausaf told the court that his condition is “extremely serious” and he should be granted bail.

Also Read: Nawaz Sharif’s Condition Deteriorated Because He ‘Might Have Been Poisoned’: Son

The NAB’s prosecutor did not challenge the defence’s plea, saying since it is a matter of serious health issue of the former premier, it does not oppose his bail.

Sharif has been under treatment at the Services Hospital since Monday night after his condition deteriorated in the NAB’s custody. He is also serving a seven-year imprisonment in the Al-Azizia corruption case.

A 10-member medical board, headed by Services Hospital principal Ayaz Mahmood, also submitted his report to the court declaring his condition “very serious”.

Dr. Ayaz said the board has diagnosed the reason for his declining health.

“It is acute immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), a bleeding disorder, in which the immune system destroys platelets. Since Sharif’s platelet counts are constantly reducing, we inject platelets every day but they destruct every day,” he said.

On Thursday evening, Sharif’s platelet count again dropped from 20,000 to 6,000.

“The medical reports of the PML-N supreme leader have been sent to doctors abroad for their opinion,” a party leader said.

Prime Minister Imran Khan has also expressed concern over Sharif’s health, saying “political differences notwithstanding, my sincere prayers are with Nawaz Sharif for his health. I have directed all concerned to ensure provision of the best possible health care and medical treatment to him”.

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) also took up a petition to release him on medical grounds in Al-Azizia steel mills case in which he was convicted for seven years in December last year and was kept in Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat jail.

A two-member IHC bench, comprising justice Amir Farooq and Justice Mohsin Akhtar, was informed that Sharif’s condition was not good as his platelets count was not stable.

The court sought complete medical reports of Sharif and adjourned the hearing till October 29.

Sharif was in Kot Lakhpat jail but early this month was sent to the custody of NAB which is probing the Sharif family in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case.

Meanwhile, Punjab health minister Dr. Yasmin Rashid told reporters that Prime Minister Imran Khan has ordered to provide the best medical treatment to Sharif.

Khan has issued directives to keep Maryam Nawaz with her father Sharif at a leading hospital here after the federal government faced criticism for shifting her back to jail.

Maryam was admitted to the Services Hospital in Lahore on Wednesday where she was rushed from the high security Kot Lakhpat jail to meet Sharif on account of his deteriorating health on the directives of Khan and felt sick.

The 45-year-old leader was admitted to VVIP ll, while her father is admitted in VVIP-l. She underwent some tests after which she was shifted back to the jail.

(PTI)