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Sharief's brother held in corruption probe

Ousted Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharief's brother, Shahbaz, has been detained under anti-corruption laws following his acquittal on hijacking charges this week, officials said Tuesday.

They said Shahbaz was detained by the National Accountability Bureau after a state appeal against his earlier acquittal was dismissed in the Sindh high court Monday.

The former chief minister of central Punjab province has been in detention since Nawaz Sharief was ousted in a coup by General Pervez Musharraf in October last year.

He had been charged with allegedly helping his brother prevent a plane carrying Musharraf and 198 other passengers from landing in Pakistan on the night of the coup.

Prison officials said there was no longer a case against him in Sindh and he could be shifted to Lahore, the Punjab capital, under anti-corruption laws allowing suspects to be detained pending investigations.

Five of his co-accused in the hijacking case - including Sharief's former chief advisor, Ghous Ali Shah, former Pakistan International Airlines chairman Shahid Khakan Abbasi and former Anti-Corruption Bureau chief Saifur Rehman -- were also acquitted but remain in NAB custody.

Sharief lost his appeal against his life sentence for hijacking but a similar verdict for terrorism was overturned.

AFP

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