Nawaz helps his mushaqati get his life term suspended

LAHORE: Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif has helped a mushaqati provided to him in the Kot Lakhpat Jail get his life sentence suspended from the Lahore High Court with the legal assistance of PML-N Lawyers Forum.

Sawar Hussain, the mushaqati, was awarded life imprisonment in a murder case during 2009 and his jail appeal against the sentence was pending with the high court since 2014. During a meeting in jail, Nawaz Sharif had instructed PML-N Lawyers Forum-Lahore President Rafaqat Dogar to pursue the case of Hussain. Dogar told media persons that the forum filed an appeal in the high court for the suspension of Hussain’s sentence on a plea that he had undergone a major portion of his imprisonment and his main appeal against the conviction was yet to be decided. The court in its order also observed that the petitioner (Hussain) had served a substantial portion of his sentence and there was no prospect of early hearing of his appeal in near future. “In the circumstances, if the sentence awarded to the petitioner is not suspended, there is likelihood that he may serve out his entire sentence before decision of his appeal on merit. It will amount to awarding the petitioner punishment in advance,” Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar further observed in the sentence suspension order. Advocate Dogar said the court had suspended the sentence of Hussain on February 25 last; however, he refused to come out of the jail before the release of Nawaz Sharif. He said a local leader of the PML-N, Haji Saleem, submitted bail bonds on behalf of Hussain on Wednesday since Nawaz was released from jail on bail the other day. He said Hussain would come out of the jail today (Thursday) as his ‘robkar’ (release order) had been submitted to the jail superintendent.