LAHORE, Pakistan: Pakistani authorities on Wednesday temporarily released former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter from prison to attend funeral services for his wife, Kulsoom, who died of cancer the day before in London.
Video footage from Geo TV showed Sharif walking through Islamabad’s airport amid tight security to be flown to the eastern city of Lahore, near the family home.
The former premier and his daughter have been given parole for 12 hours but the government of Punjab province is considering an extension so they can attend the funeral on Friday. The body is due to be flown back from London on Thursday.
“Initially, we released them on parole for 12 hours but the application they have given to the Punjab government is for five days and we are considering it,” provincial law minister Muhammad Raja Basharat told Reuters.
Ousted as prime minister last year by the Supreme Court over some undeclared income, Nawaz Sharif was in London with Kulsoom this year when a separate anti-graft court handed him a 10-year jail term in absentia over the ownership of luxury flats in London in the 1990s.
Maryam Sharif, his daughter and presumed political heir, was sentenced to seven years in prison on related charges.
Both Sharifs said they had broken no law and there was no proof the residences were purchased with money from corruption.
The father and daughter left Kulsoom’s bedside to return to Pakistan to rally their followers ahead of a July 25 general election. Both were arrested on arrival and have been imprisoned since.
Sharif’s party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, which had been in power for five years, lost to the party of former cricket star Imran Khan.
Khan on Tuesday extended condolences to the Sharif family.
Three-time-premier Sharif, who was removed from office in each of his elected terms, has maintained that his most recent ousting in July 2017 and subsequent conviction were part of a plot against him by the military and the judiciary.
The army has repeatedly denied any interference in politics, while the courts insist justice is carried out impartially.
![]()
Pakistan’s ex-PM Sharif, daughter released for his wife’s funeral
Pakistan’s ex-PM Sharif, daughter released for his wife’s funeral
- The former premier and his daughter have been given parole for 12 hours but the government of Punjab province is considering an extension so they can attend the funeral on Friday
- Both Sharifs said they had broken no law and there was no proof the residences were purchased with money from corruption
Swiss bar owner faces prosecutors for second hearing after deadly New Year’s fire
The French couple, Jacques and Jessica Moretti, are suspected of crimes including negligent homicide
They have both voiced grief over the fire, which mostly killed teenagers
GENEVA: The owner of a Swiss bar that caught fire on New Year’s Day, killing 40 people, appeared before prosecutors on Tuesday for a second set of hearings in the criminal investigation, according to a lawyer present.
The French couple, Jacques and Jessica Moretti, are suspected of crimes including negligent homicide.
Jacques Moretti, who is currently in police custody, is before prosecutors on Tuesday in Sion to examine his version of events, Romain Jordan, a lawyer for families of the victims, told Reuters.
Moretti’s wife, who remains free, is due to be heard on Wednesday.
They have both voiced grief over the fire, which mostly killed teenagers, and said they would cooperate with the probe.
During initial hearings, Jacques Moretti said that a service door at the back of the “Le Constellation” bar was locked shut during the blaze, according to excerpts published by Swiss media.
He said he forced it open from the outside and found several people lying behind it.
Asked about this testimony, his lawyer Nicola Meier said it was a tragedy but denied it represented a locked emergency exit.
Local authorities for the ski town of Crans-Montana also face scrutiny after missing safety checks. The mayor’s office said it withdrew a request to be a party to the case “out of respect for the victims.”
They have both voiced grief over the fire, which mostly killed teenagers
GENEVA: The owner of a Swiss bar that caught fire on New Year’s Day, killing 40 people, appeared before prosecutors on Tuesday for a second set of hearings in the criminal investigation, according to a lawyer present.
The French couple, Jacques and Jessica Moretti, are suspected of crimes including negligent homicide.
Jacques Moretti, who is currently in police custody, is before prosecutors on Tuesday in Sion to examine his version of events, Romain Jordan, a lawyer for families of the victims, told Reuters.
Moretti’s wife, who remains free, is due to be heard on Wednesday.
They have both voiced grief over the fire, which mostly killed teenagers, and said they would cooperate with the probe.
During initial hearings, Jacques Moretti said that a service door at the back of the “Le Constellation” bar was locked shut during the blaze, according to excerpts published by Swiss media.
He said he forced it open from the outside and found several people lying behind it.
Asked about this testimony, his lawyer Nicola Meier said it was a tragedy but denied it represented a locked emergency exit.
Local authorities for the ski town of Crans-Montana also face scrutiny after missing safety checks. The mayor’s office said it withdrew a request to be a party to the case “out of respect for the victims.”
Latest updates
© 2026 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.