LHC acquits Sharif in helicopter "misappropriation" case

Rawalpindi, June 26 (ANI): The Lahore High Court (LHC) has acquitted former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in the helicopter "misappropriation" case.

A two-member division bench of the LHC declared the lower court's verdict as null and void, thus dismissing the misappropriation case against Sharif, The News reports.

After hearing the arguments of the special prosecutor of National Accountability Bureau (NAB), General Abdul Baseer Qureshi, the court gave its verdict in favour of Sharif, and dismissed the accountability court's earlier verdict that sentenced him to 14 years of imprisonment and along with a fine of 20 million rupees.

Earlier, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had requested the LHC to dismiss Sharif's petition against punishment in the helicopter case.

The NAB sighted that Sharif had filed the petition much after the date set by the court.

Senior NAB Prosecutor Abdul Baseer Qureshi told a Division Bench that Sharif, after his conviction, had deliberately avoided approaching court for an appeal within the stipulated time, and preferred going abroad to file his plea.

"It is a clear evidence of Nawaz Sharif's disinterest in challenging the verdict. Therefore, the court should dismiss his belated plea for the condoning of time limit for filing appeal in the case," Qureshi said.

Qureshi also denied that the copies of the verdict had reached Sharif late due to which he couldn't file his petition.

Sharif has been accused of tax evasion and fraudulently purchasing a helicopter, which he used for election campaigning in the mid-1990s.

A special anti-terrorism court had adjudged him guilty of utilizing his post for his own benefit, and disqualified him from holding public office for 21 years. (ANI)