By Islamuddin Sajid
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AA) – Pakistani authorities on Wednesday released former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter and son-in-law on parole for the funeral of former First Lady Begum Kulsoom Nawaz.
All three of them were released from Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi hours after the former first lady passed away in a London hospital on Tuesday after a long battle with cancer.
Nawaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz and Mohammad Safdar are currently serving prison sentences after a court convicted them in a graft case in July.
The three-time premier and his family were initially released for 12 hours, but the duration is likely to be extended till the burial, local English daily Dawn reported.
They were shifted on a special plane to Lahore where they reached Jati Umra, the family residence.
Photos and videos aired on local television channels show a visibly aggrieved father-daughter duo.
Shehbaz Sharif, younger brother of Nawaz Sharif and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party chief, has left for London to bring the body home, according to family sources.
She is likely to be laid to rest on Friday.
Nawaz Sharif's sons, Hussain Nawaz and Hassan Nawaz, who are currently in London, would not accompany their mother as both are facing court cases in Pakistan and have been declared absconder.
Kulsoom Nawaz is survived by a husband, two sons and two daughters.
