Nawaz released from Kot Lakhpat Jail, reaches Jati Umra

LAHORE: Former premier Nawaz Sharif was released Tuesday from Kot Lakhpat Jail after the Supreme Court granted him a bail for six weeks.

The much-awaited moment for a large number of PML-N workers who had gathered outside the Kot Lakhpat Jail to receive their Quaid came at 00:55am after the court orders were presented to the jail administration and Nawaz was allowed to go.

PML-N stalwart and former federal minister Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry presented the court orders to the jail administration after reaching Lahore by a private aircraft. Before leaving the jail premises, Nawaz also had a meeting with the prison staff and thanked the administration, sources said. Opposition leader in the National Assembly, and currently the PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif, former premier Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, Bilal Yasin, Lahore Mayor Col Mubashir (retd) and a large number of party workers from Lahore received Nawaz amid slogans of ‘Sher, Sher’ outside the Kot Lakhpat Jail. PML-N Lahore leaders including Kh Imran Nazir, Saiful Malook Khokhar, MNA Ali Pervaiz and others were also present on the occasion.

Soon after the vehicle carrying Nawaz made an exit from the front gate of the Kot Lakhpat Jail, charged party workers surrounded it and started showering currency notes and petals to celebrate the release of their leader. Nawaz responded by waving to the supporters and left for Jati Umra, Raiwind, in a large convoy of vehicles. At Jati Umra, mother of the former prime minister, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and Shahbaz Sharif received him. In a tweet, Maryam thanked Allah and expressed gratitude to the PML-N workers for their constant support that kept her in high spirits.

Shahbaz also called on Nawaz at Kot Lakhpat Jail before the latter’s release. Talking to media on his arrival at the Kot Lakhpat Jail, Shahbaz said he was thankful to Allah for his blessings and release of former premier. He said the PML-N holds judiciary in high esteem. When asked to comment on the bail granted to his elder brother and exclusion of his (Shahbaz) name from the ECL, he said bail of Nawaz was ‘major news’. Earlier, at different locations of Lahore, which is considered the base camp of the PML-N, a large number of party activists celebrated the release of their leader on bail. The party workers in form of convoys reached Kot Lakhpat Jail and waited for hours to receive their party’s Quaid. Goats were also sacrificed and prayers were offered for Nawaz’s health.

After receiving a sentence of seven years imprisonment by an accountability court in December 2018, Nawaz was first sent to Adiala and later to Kot Lakhpat Jail. From December 24, 2018 to March 26, 2019, he spent around three months in Kot Lakhpat Jail after he was granted bail by the court on medical grounds. However, he isn’t allowed to travel abroad.

During the span of last three months, PML-N leadership voiced serious concerns over the deteriorating health of former prime minister in captivity while slamming the PTI government for not taking the health issue of Nawaz seriously. On the other hand, the PTI-led Punjab government claimed that it had provided the best medical facilities to Nawaz Sharif. During the last three months, the PML-N leadership and Punjab chief minister’s spokesman Dr Shahbaz Gill were seen in a ‘twitter war’ over the health issue of the former PM.