A corruption conviction against three-time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was overturned by a Pakistani high court on Wednesday. Sharif returned from self-imposed exile last month to start a political comeback.
Sharif is now on bail, appealing various corruption convictions in a bid to clean his name ahead of the February elections, with his chief opponent Imran Khan in jail.
“I had left all matters to Allah, and Allah has honored me today,” Sharif said outside the Islamabad High Court.
The acquittal in one case was confirmed by an officer of the Islamabad high court, while Sharif is currently challenging a second sentence for investments in steel businesses.
In 2017, he was removed and banished from politics for life for failing to report portions of his income.
Sharif, who has served as Prime Minister three times but has never served a full term, has always claimed that the allegations were politically motivated.
His political fortunes have soared and fallen in direct proportion to his connection with Pakistan’s military establishment – the country’s actual kingmakers who have ruled directly for more than half of its history and continue to wield enormous power.
“Now everything is moving in favor of Nawaz Sharif,” said political analyst Hasan Askari.
“This appears to be a political game managed by powerful personalities and institutions,” he told AFP.
When Khan had a spectacular falling out with the military, Sharif’s prospects shifted dramatically.
The former cricketing sensation was later imprisoned in connection with multiple charges he claims are intended to discourage him from running for office next year.
Shehbaz Sharif, Nawaz Sharif’s younger brother, was elected in a coalition that deposed Khan.
That administration achieved a modification in the legislation that limited politicians’ disqualification from running for office to five years, opening the path for his comeback.
