ISLAMABAD—A Pakistani court suspended the corruption conviction of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and ordered he be freed from jail.
The Islamabad High Court, hearing a petition from Mr. Sharif’s lawyers, said Wednesday he should be set free on bail pending his appeal, according to the court order. The two judges hearing the case have a reputation for being independent-minded, lawyers said.
An anticorruption court in July had sentenced Mr. Sharif to 10 years in prison in a case centered on four London apartments. Three weeks later Mr. Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-N party was defeated in an election that elevated his main challenger, Imran Khan, to prime minister.
Khawaja Haris, Mr. Sharif’s lawyer, said the High Court had found that corruption wasn’t proven against Mr. Sharif, who has always maintained that the London property is owned by his two sons, not him.
Muzaffar Abbasi, a prosecutor, said the anticorruption authorities would now consider a challenge to the outcome.
Mr. Sharif’s political party has said its election prospects were sunk by a campaign against him by the judiciary in concert with the military, which both the military and the judiciary deny.
Write to Saeed Shah at saeed.shah@wsj.com
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