Nawaz Sharif's conviction order may be suspended

Pakistan Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said the incumbent government is considering the suspension of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's conviction order.

"Powers to suspend the conviction lie with the government and the judiciary," The News quoted Sanaullah as saying to a private news channel.

He added that the government had the powers to commute, reduce or suspend anyone's sentence.

If an innocent is wrongly convicted, there is way that the sentence is suspended and they are given a chance to approach the court in a proper way, the Interior Minister said.

Late last month, the government issued a new passport with 10-year-validity to the former premier to return to Pakistan.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo was barred by the Supreme Court in 2017 from holding public office and subsequently went abroad for medical treatment after serving just a few months of a 10-year jail sentence on corruption charges.

He has been living in London for the last two years since being let out of jail.