LONDON: Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday said he would return to Pakistan this week despite being sentenced in absentia to 10 years in prison by a corruption court there.
"Despite seeing the bars of prison in front of my eyes, I am going to Pakistan," he told a conference of his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party in London.
"Put Nawaz Sharif in prison for life, send him to the gallows but you will have to answer the questions that the people of Pakistan are asking and they will stop only after getting answers," he said to cheering from supporters.
Sharif also alluded to the power of Pakistan's security establishment, saying: "There was a time when we used to say a state within a state, now it's a state above the state".
At the conference, held in the ballroom of the Grosvenor House hotel in central London's plush Mayfair district, one man held a placard reading: "Leave democracy alone".
Attendees chanted "Nawaz Sharif, We Love You!" as he concluded his speech.
Sharif was sentenced by a court in Islamabad last week over the purchase of high-end properties in London.
He was ousted from his third term as prime minister by the Supreme Court last year following a corruption investigation and banned from politics for life but remains a powerful symbol for his ruling party.
Usman Khan, PML-N's coordinator in Britain, told AFP that Sharif's case "was manipulated by the judiciary and the establishment in Pakistan".
Khan said Sharif would leave London on Thursday and arrive in Lahore in Pakistan at around 0600 or 0700 GMT.
"We are expecting a large crowd to welcome him," he said.
Khan said he hoped Sharif would be allowed to speak to his supporters in Pakistan "before he surrenders himself to the authorities".
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Ex-PM Sharif heading back to Pakistan despite sentence
Ex-PM Sharif heading back to Pakistan despite sentence
- Sharif was sentenced by a court in Islamabad last week over the purchase of high-end properties in London
Thai runner-up party seeks criminal case against election officials
- A Thai political party that came second in this month’s vote filed a criminal complaint Thursday against the nation’s election commissioner
BANGKOK: A Thai political party that came second in this month’s vote filed a criminal complaint Thursday against the nation’s election commissioners, accusing them of violating election laws, the party’s deputy told AFP.
The reformist People’s Party “submitted a case” to a criminal court against seven election commissioners, the Election Commission’s secretary-general and another election official, deputy party leader Wayo Assawarungruang said.
“Two charges involve wrongful exercise of duties, and the last charge we claimed was about marking ballots with QR codes and barcodes which allow the votes to be traced and not kept secret as it should be,” Wayo said.
The Election Commission confirmed the victory of caretaker Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s conservative Bhumjaithai party on Wednesday, ratifying most of the vote results.
Bhumjaithai won 170 constituencies, the most of any party, while People’s Party — which had been polling first ahead of the election — came in second, with 88 constituencies, the commission said.
Some citizens and experts raised concerns after election day that QR codes and barcodes found on ballots could be used to identify individual voters.
But the commission said the markings were to ensure electoral security and prevent the use of fake ballots.
The Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases said it will decide whether to hear the case by March 24, according to Wayo.
If the court takes up the case, the nine face a maximum prison sentence of 20 years and the loss of their political rights for a decade.
The reformist People’s Party “submitted a case” to a criminal court against seven election commissioners, the Election Commission’s secretary-general and another election official, deputy party leader Wayo Assawarungruang said.
“Two charges involve wrongful exercise of duties, and the last charge we claimed was about marking ballots with QR codes and barcodes which allow the votes to be traced and not kept secret as it should be,” Wayo said.
The Election Commission confirmed the victory of caretaker Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s conservative Bhumjaithai party on Wednesday, ratifying most of the vote results.
Bhumjaithai won 170 constituencies, the most of any party, while People’s Party — which had been polling first ahead of the election — came in second, with 88 constituencies, the commission said.
Some citizens and experts raised concerns after election day that QR codes and barcodes found on ballots could be used to identify individual voters.
But the commission said the markings were to ensure electoral security and prevent the use of fake ballots.
The Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases said it will decide whether to hear the case by March 24, according to Wayo.
If the court takes up the case, the nine face a maximum prison sentence of 20 years and the loss of their political rights for a decade.
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