Pakistan court clears PM Nawaz Sharif, family in second corruption case

Islamabad: A court in Pakistan on cleared Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his close family members in an old corruption case, a week after a separate 24-year-old graft case against him was dismissed.

The anti-corruption court in the garrison city of Rawalpindi issued the verdict in Ittefaq Foundry case which was registered in 2001, reported Geo TV.

Judge Sohail Nasir rejected the National Accountability Bureau's (NAB) request to reopen investigation into the case.

Radio Pakistan reported that the court took the decision in light of the earlier verdict of Lahore High Court which had rejected the case but NAB wanted to reopen it.

Apart from Sharif, his younger brother and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, his late father Muhammad Sharif, a late brother Abbas Sharif and some other family members were named in the case.

The judge said that the case was based on political vendetta and declared the accused as innocent.

It is the second major relief for Sharif in long pending court cases as last week the Lahore High Court had rejected a 24-year-old corruption case against the prime minister on a petition seeking his permanent disqualification from holding public office over money laundering and having assets worth billions of rupees abroad.