A federal court in Pakistan's capital on Thursday restored the right of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif to appeal his 2018 convictions in two graft cases, officials said, less than a week after he returned home from four years of self-imposed exile in London. The decision by the Islamabad High Court was a boost for Sharif ahead of parliamentary elections due in January.
At Thursday's court hearing, which Sharif attended, the court extended his protection from arrest after the anti-corruption body said it had no intention of detaining him in connection with pending cases. Sharif was elected prime minister three times but could never complete his term. In 2018, Sharif was replaced by cricketer-turned politician Imran Khan after the elections, which Sharif says were massively rigged.