Nawaz Sharif challenges his 10-year jail term
Islamabad, July 16 : Pakistan's former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who was given a 10-year jail term this month in a corruption case, challenged his conviction and sought suspension of the guilty verdict, media reports said on Monday.
An anti-graft court had also handed down seven years in prison to Sharif's daughter Maryam Nawaz on the charges related to four luxury flats in London, reports Xinhua news agency.
They returned to Pakistan from London on Friday. Both are currently in Adiyala prison in Rawalpindi city near the capital Islamabad where they will face trial in other two corruption cases.
Sharif was accused of having wealth beyond his income. However, the charges were denied by the three-time Prime Minister as politically-motivated.
He was also sentenced one-year in prison for "not cooperating" with the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Pakistan's anti-graft body.
His son-in-law was also convicted for one year in jail for abetment. Sharif's lawyers filed the petition in the Islamabad High Court, which sought acquittal of Nawaz Sharif and dropping all charges framed against him.
The court had imposed 8 million pounds penalty on Nawaz Sharif and 2 million pounds fine on Maryam Nawaz. A team of four senior lawyers filed the petition which prayed to set aside the judgement, conviction and sentence on July 6, 2018.
The Islamabad High Court has not yet accepted the petition. A date for hearing will be announced after the appeal is accepted.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismisses defence minister in surprise announcement
Jerusalem, Nov 5: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday dismissed his popular defence minister, Yoav Gallant, in a surprise announcement that came as the country is embroiled in wars on multiple fronts across the region.
Netanyahu and Gallant have repeatedly been at odds over the war in Gaza. But Netanyahu had avoided firing his rival. Netanyahu cited “significant gaps” and a “crisis of trust” between the men in his Tuesday evening announcement.
“In the midst of a war, more than ever, full trust is required between the prime minister and defence minister,” Netanyahu said. “Unfortunately, although in the first months of the campaign there was such trust and there was very fruitful work, during the last months this trust cracked between me and the defence minister.”
In the early days of the war, Israel's leadership presented a unified front as it responded to Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack. But as the war dragged on and spread to Lebanon, key policy differences have emerged. While Netanyahu has called for continued military pressure on Hamas, Gallant had taken a more pragmatic approach, saying that military force has created the necessary conditions for a diplomatic deal that could bring home hostages held by the Hamas group.
Gallant, a former general who has gained public respect with a gruff, no-nonsense personality, said in a statement: “The security of the state of Israel always was, and will always remain, my life's mission."
Gallant has worn a simple, black buttoned shirt throughout the war in a sign of sorrow over the October 7 attack and developed a strong relationship with his US counterpart, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin.
A previous attempt by Netanyahu to fire Gallant in March 2023 sparked widespread street protests against Netanyahu. He also flirted with the idea of dismissing Gallant over the summer but held off until Tuesday's announcement.
Gallant will be replaced by Foreign Minister Israel Katz, a Netanyahu loyalist and veteran Cabinet minister who was a junior officer in the military. Gideon Saar, a former Netanyahu rival who recently rejoined the government, will take the foreign affairs post.
Netanyahu has a long history of neutralising his rivals. In his statement, he claimed he had made “many attempts” to bridge the gaps with Gallant.
“But they kept getting wider. They also came to the knowledge of the public in an unacceptable way, and worse than that, they came to the knowledge of the enemy - our enemies enjoyed it and derived a lot of benefit from it,” he said.
