A Pakistan court on Thursday (October 26) issued arrest warrant for ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif after he failed to appear before the court in two cases of corruption, report Pakistani local media.

Nawaz Sharif is now in London with his wife Kalsum as she undergoes cancer treatment, and has not returned to Pakistan since he was indicted in the corruption allegations earlier this month.

Nawaz Sharif’s lawyers said that the accountability court issued bailable warrants for the former Prime Minister.

In July, the Supreme Court sacked Nawaz Sharif following an investigation into corruption allegations against his family.

The claims against the Prime Minister stemmed from the Panama Papers leak last year, which sparked a media frenzy over the luxurious lifestyles and high-end London property portfolio owned by his family.

In 1993, he was sacked from his first term as Premier for corruption, while in 1999 he was sentenced to life in prison after his second term in office ended with a military putsch.

Following the coup, he was allowed to go into exile in Saudi Arabia, returning in 2007 before becoming the Prime Minister for a third time in 2013.

Last month, his wife won his former parliamentary seat during a heated by-election in Lahore, in a poll seen as a key test of the ruling party's popularity after Nawaz Sharif's sacking and ahead of a general election due to be held sometime next year.

BDST: 1640 HRS, OCT 26, 2017
EHJ