Pakistan court orders release of Nawaz Sharif, daughter Mariam

Sharif's son-in-law has also been granted a release; all of them need to submit a bond of $4,000 each.

A Pakistani court has suspended the prison sentences of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter and son-in-law, and set them free on bail pending their appeal hearings.
The Islamabad High Court made the decision on Wednesday on a corruption case handed down to the Sharifs by an anti-graft tribunal earlier this year.
"Today, the Islamabad High Court has suspended the verdict against Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and his son-in-law Captain Safdar and ordered to release them on bail until a final decision," Khawaja Haris, Sharif's lawyer, told AFP.
Dozens of jubilant supporters chanted "Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif!" outside the court after the decision was announced.
The court also ordered Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law Mohammad Safdar, be released once they each post a bond of half a million rupees, or about $4,000.
The three are serving 10-, seven- and one-year prison sentences, respectively.
Sharif was disqualified from office by the country's Supreme Court last year over corruption allegations. He faces several court cases at home.
The former prime minister was briefly released earlier this month for his wife's funeral.
"Today the court has suspended the decision that was based on revenge," former minister Ahsan Iqbal told reporters. 
"This trial is important because even a blind person in Pakistan will see that there was neither law nor constitution in the decision and it was just pre-poll rigging to pave the way for Imran Khan to win elections," he said.
 

• Pakistan