Nawaz Sharif has challenged the decision of an anti-graft court to hand him a 10-year jail term on corruption charges.
“The conviction and sentence are based on no evidence,” Sharif’s lawyer Khawaja Haris Ahmad said in an appeal filed at the Islamabad High Court (IHC).
The court is likely start hearing the appeal from today, said Saad Hashmi, a member of Sharif’s legal team.
The National Accountability Bureau court ruled on July 6 that Sharif’s family bought properties in London with funds from Pakistan in the 1990s during one of Sharif’s three terms in power.
Sharif was handed 10 years of jail and a fine of £8mn ($10.5mn), his daughter Maryam Nawaz was handed an eight-year jail term and £2mn fine, and his son-in-law Muhammad Safdar was sentenced to one year in prison.
Since their return to Pakistan from London on Friday, the three-time prime minister and his daughter have been imprisoned in a high-security jail in Rawalpindi.
The court ruling, which came just weeks ahead of national elections scheduled for July 25, has reinforced suspicions held by many that the country’s powerful military colluded with the judiciary to prevent Sharif’s party from seeking another term.