Nawaz Sharif, Daughter Arrive In Lahore After Jail Sentence Is Suspended

Agencies
September 20, 2018

Lahore, Sept 20: Ousted Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam and son-in-law were released from prison on Wednesday, hours after a top court suspended their sentences in a major corruption case that wrecked their political career.

In a relief to the Sharif family which is still grieving from the death of Nawaz's wife Begum Kulsoom, a two-judge bench of the Islamabad High Court suspended the jail sentences of the embattled former prime minister Sharif, his daughter Maryam and son-in-law Capt (retd) Muhammad Safdar in the Avenfield corruption case and ordered their release.

Sharif's younger brother and President of his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Shehbaz Sharif and other party leaders met the former premier at the high-security Adiala Prison before he was released, Geo News reported.

Shehbaz, along with party leaders, met Nawaz in the office of the jail superintendent.

During the meeting, Nawaz Sharif said, "I have not done anything wrong; my conscience is satisfied."

Nawaz Sharif told party leaders that Almighty Allah favours what is right and just. "Allah will grant justice to me," he said.

The former three-time premier, his daughter and son-in-law were taken to the Noor Khan Airbase amidst tight security. They arrived in Lahore, the bastion of the Sharif family, on a special plane, where the trio received a rousing welcome from thousands of party supporters.

Earlier, a two-judge bench of the Islamabad High Court heard the petitions filed by Sharif, Maryam and Safdar challenging their conviction related to the purchase of four luxury flats in London through corrupt practices.

"The instant writ petition is allowed and sentence awarded to the petitioners by the accountability court shall remain suspended till the final adjudication of the appeal filed by the petitioner," reads the judgment.

A date will now be fixed for the hearing of the appeals.

The accountability court judge Mohammad Bashir had sentenced the trio on July 6.

Nawaz Sharif, 68, Maryam, 44, and Safdar, 54, were sentenced to 10 years, seven years and one year, respectively, in prison and fined in the Avenfield properties case.

The accused were also disqualified to contest elections or to hold public office for a period of 10 years after release. Both Maryam and Safdar are politicians. The accountability court verdict had ruined their political career.

Following the accountability court's judgment, the Sharifs filed separate petitions requesting the high court to suspend sentences and set aside the verdict.

The ruling by the Islamabad High Court comes just a week after Sharif's wife, Kulsoom Nawaz, died from cancer in London.

The trio were briefly allowed out of the high-security Adiala Jail on parole to attend her funeral. They returned to jail on Monday.

The two-judge bench also ordered the release of the former premier, his daughter and son-in-law from the Adiala jail in Rawalpindi.

Sharif, Maryam and Safdar were also directed to submit bail bonds worth Rs. 500,000.

According to jail officials, Nawaz, Maryam and Safdar will be released on Wednesday if the order is received prior to the expiration of lock-up time.

Quoting sources, Geo News reported that if the former premier, his daughter and son-in-law are released, they will be taken to Lahore via a special flight.

Pakistani media reported that the verdict would remain a temporary relief for the former prime minister and his family members until the court gives the final decision on their application seeking suspension of their conviction in the  Avenfield case.

Apart from the Avenfield case, the Sharifs face jail terms if they are convicted in two more corruption cases  related to Al-Azizia and Flagship cases.

The cases against the family stemmed from Panama Papers case in April 2016.

In a blow to Pakistan's anti-corruption watchdog, the Islamabad High Court also dismissed the National Accountability Bureau's request to first announce a judgment on the maintainability of the pleas. The bench also imposed a fine on the NAB lawyers earlier for using delaying tactics.

The NAB was also pulled up by the Supreme Court on Monday when it rejected its petition challenging the IHC's decision to hear Sharifs' petitions against the Avenfield verdict.

Chief Justice Saqib Nisar termed the NAB petition as frivolous and imposed a Rs. 20,000 fine on the anti-corruption watchdog.

Sharif resigned as Pakistan prime minister last year after the Supreme Court disqualified him from holding public office and ruled that graft cases be filed against the beleaguered leader and his children over the Panama Papers scandal.

The Avenfield case was among the three corruption cases filed against the three-time former premier and his children by the NAB on the Supreme Court's orders in the Panama Papers case which disqualified Sharif.

Sharif has denied any wrongdoing and says the charges are political motivated.

His supporters believe the real reason he was convicted was because he had fallen out with the country's powerful army.

Leader of the Opposition and Sharif's younger brother, Shahbaz, following the verdict, tweeted a Quranic verse to express gratitude on suspension of the sentences.

"Truth has come, and falsehood has departed. Indeed is falsehood, [by nature], ever bound to depart," he tweeted.

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News Network
January 22,2020

Jan 22: Microsoft Corp’s chief executive officer said he worries that mistrust between the US and China will increase technology costs and hurt economic growth at a critical time.

Using the $470 billion semiconductor industry as an example of a sector that is already globally interconnected, Satya Nadella said the two countries will have to find ways to work together, rather than creating different supply chains for each country.

“All you are doing is increasing transaction costs for everybody if you completely separate,” Nadella said in an interview with Bloomberg News Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait at Bloomberg’s The Year Ahead conference in Davos. That’s a concern as the executive said the world is on the cusp of a revolution around technology and artificial intelligence.

“If we take steps back in trust or increase transaction costs around technology, all we are doing is sacrificing global economic growth,” he said.

The agreement signed last week between the US and China was “not sufficient,” said Nadella, but represented “progress” on the issue of intellectual property protections for US technology companies working with China.

Nadella said he worries about the development of two separate internets, noting that to some degree they already exist “and they will get amplified in the future” with massive technology companies already in place in China.

The viewpoint clashes with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, who has been sceptical about the idea that ongoing US-China trade tensions could ever lead to a bifurcated system of two internets.

China and the US are the two leading AI superpowers, however the cooling political relations between them have slowed the international collaboration.

Nadella also warned that countries that fail to attract immigrants will lose out as the global tech industry continues to grow. The CEO has previously voiced concern about India’s Citizenship Amendment Act, calling it “sad.”

“However, Nadella said he remained hopeful.

“The fact that there is a 70-year history of nation-building, I think it’s a very strong foundation. I grew up in that country. I’m proud of that heritage. I’m influenced by that experience.”

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News Network
February 10,2020

New Delhi, Feb 10: A 44-year-old man allegedly killed his daughter and son before ending his life by jumping in front of a Delhi metro train at Haiderpur Badli Mor station on Sunday, police said.

No suicide note has been recovered, but police claimed that the man, Madhur Malani, was depressed since his sandpaper-manufacturing factory was closed some six months ago due to financial crunch leaving him jobless. Madhur's parents had been supporting his family financially since then.

He used to stay with his wife Rupali, daughter Samiksha (14) and six-year-old son Shraiyans at a rented house in northwest Delhi's Shalimar Bagh area, they said.

Rupali was not at home when Madhur strangled their children. He might have also smothered their daughter but the exact cause of death would be ascertained only after the post-mortem reports arrive, a police official said.

After killing his two children, he jumped in front of an approaching train at Haiderpur Badli Mor Metro station following which he was rushed to a hospital where doctors declared him 'brought dead', the official said.

Metro services on the Yellow Line were briefly delayed due to the incident.

"Delay in services from Samaypur Badli to GTB Nagar due to a passenger on track at Haiderpur Badli Mor," the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) tweeted.

After about 15 minutes, it again tweeted that normal services have been restored. The Delhi Metro's Yellow Line connects Samaypur Badli in Delhi to HUDA City Centre in Gurgaon.

The suicide was reported to the police around 5.40 pm while the Shalimar Bagh Police station received a call about the killings around 6.50 pm.

On reaching the house, police found bodies of the children lying in beds in two rooms. During enquiry, it was learnt that their father has left the house, a senior police officer said.

While police were trying to trace Madhur, they learnt about a suicide at the metro station. On verifying the details, it surfaced that Madhur committed suicide after killing his children, the officer said.

Rupali told police that she had gone to a nearby market around 3 pm and on returning home she found the bodies of her children while her husband was missing.

A case under relevant sections of the IPC has been registered and investigation was underway, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Northwest) Vijayanta Arya said.

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News Network
July 12,2020

New Delhi, Jul 12: With the highest single-day spike of 28,637 new cases and 551 deaths being reported in the last 24 hours, India's COVID-19 count reached 8,49,553 on Sunday.

According to the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry, this includes 2,92,258 active cases, and 5,34,621 cured and discharged or migrated patients. The toll due to the disease has reached 22,674 in the country.

Maharashtra with 2,46,600 cases continues to be the worst affected state by COVID-19 in the country. The state has 99,499 active cases while 1,36,985 patients have been cured and discharged so far. The death toll due to the disease now stands at 10,116.

Tamil Nadu with 1,34,226 cases, including 46,413 active ones, is the next worst affected in the country. While the number of cured and discharged patients is at 85,915 in the state, the toll due to the disease is at 1,898.

The national capital has recorded 1,10,921 confirmed cases so far. However, the number of active cases in Delhi is at 19,895 and 87,692 patients have been cured and discharged so far. With 3,334 deaths being reported due to COVID-19 in the city. 

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