ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court on Wednesday acquitted former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif over corrupt practices linked to his family’s purchase of upscale London flats in a case in which the three-time ex-premier was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2018.

Sharif’s third term as prime minister ran from 2013 to 2017, when he was removed by the Supreme Court amid revelations over his personal wealth in the Panama Papers investigations, and subsequently convicted of corruption in two cases. 

The Avenfield case revolved around the purchase of the upscale Avenfield apartments in London by the Sharif family. In a second case, the Al-Azizia reference, Sharif was convicted for owning assets beyond means and being unable to justify the source of the funds to set up the Al-Azizia Steel Mills and Hill Metal Establishment (HME) in Saudi Arabia. In the second case, Sharif was sentenced to seven years in jail in 2018.

Sharif has consistently denied the accusations, claiming they were politically motivated and blaming the country’s generals for directing the judges to bring him down. The military denies interfering in politics.

“I had left things to Allah, Allah has made me triumphant today,” Sharif told reporters after his acquittal in the Avenfield reference.

Asked about what he expected in the Al-Azizia appeal, the ex-PM said: “I have left that to Allah also.”

Sharif returned to Pakistan after four years in self-exile on Oct. 21 to lead his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) party in general elections, scheduled for February.

Ahead of his return, Sharif got protective bail against arrest from a court, and subsequently bail in both the Avenfield and Al-Azizia cases. While he has now been acquitted in the former case, his sentence in the Al-Azizia corruption reference was suspended by the caretaker administration in the Punjab province last month, which is widely considered to be close to the military establishment. The army denies it has any political affiliations.

The suspension of the Al-Azizia sentence and Sharif’s acquittal today in the apartments’ reference has led to widespread speculation that the way is being paved for Sharif’s return to power for a fourth time. 

A number of major political parties, including the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf of ex-PM Imran Khan and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) of the Bhutto dynasty, have openly complained of the lack of what has popularly come to be called a “level playing field” — a euphemism for fair competition in elections. Both parties say the PMLN has become a favorite of the powerful military establishment ahead of polls.