Nawaz Sharif to appear before accountability court on Friday

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif returned to the country on Thursday to face corruption case proceedings against him in an accountability court, scheduled for Friday.

Bailable arrest warrants were issued by the court after he failed to appear before it last month. He was in London to be with his wife Kulsoom Nawaz, who's being treated for throat cancer.

Ahead of his return Mr. Sharif told Geo TV that he is returning to the country despite his wife's condition. He once again dubbed corruption charges against him as a farce.

Mr. Sharif was disqualified in July last by the



Supreme Court, which found him guilty of not being honest and truthful as a parliamentarian. A five-member bench declared that Mr. Sharif did not disclose his salary from a Dubai-based company before tax authorities. Mr. Sharif said the company belonged to his son, and he was only a voluntary chairman of the board of directors.

Mr. Sharif and his children are now facing corruption cases disclosed in Panama Papers last year. Panama Papers claimed that the Sharifs purchased four expensive apartments in Central London from money routed through offshore companies in Panama and the money was never declared before the tax authorities in Pakistan