ISLAMABAD, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has said that he was ready to face the 10-year imprisonment, which he said was a punishment for his struggle to free the people of the country from the "slavery imposed on them by some generals and judges."
Sharif, who is in London to attend his wife battling cancer, said on Friday that he would come back to Pakistan to face imprisonment after his wife feels better, but did not give any timeframe of his return.
Sharif was sentenced on corruption charges by a court in Islamabad, which said that the former chief of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party and his family owned assets beyond known means and could not prove their claims of making the assets with legitimate money.
The court also imposed a fine of 8 million pounds (10.63 million U.S. dollars) on Sharif and ordered to confiscate his apartments in London, which is said to be made with the corruption money in 1994.
The judge also sentenced Sharif's daughter Maryam Nawaz seven years in prison for assisting his father in making offshore companies to hide their illegally earned money, and for forging documents presented in the court during the trail. Her husband Muhammad Safdar also got one year imprisonment in the same case.
Sharif was removed from the office of prime minister in July 2017. He was also barred from holding any political office.
Following he verdict, PML-N rejected the court's decision by calling it a great deal of "injustice," adding that the former prime minister became a victim of politically motivated decision by the judges.
Sharif's younger brother, and his party's current president Shahbaz Sharif said that they will launch a campaign against the injustice and emerge as the victorious party in the forthcoming general elections, to be held on July 25.
Nawaz Sharif told reporters in London that his legal troubles are the outcome of a military-backed conspiracy to take revenge from him for his efforts to bring the country's foreign policy under the control of civilian government.
PML-N's rival political party Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf hailed the court's decision.
Maryam Nawaz and Safdar were PML-N candidates for the forthcoming general elections, but the accountability court disqualified them to contest or hold any public office for 10 years.
As per country's constitution, the convicts reserve the right to challenge the accountability court's decision in the High Court within 10 days of the decision.
Shahbaz Sharif said the PML-N will avail its legal right to raise voice against the injustice and do all the procedures against the decision.
