Nawaz Sharif acquitted, Imran Khan steps down in political shakeup

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has been acquitted by the Islamabad High Court in the Avenfield reference case, providing a major relief for his political party, the PML-N. Sharif had been convicted and sentenced to jail in both the Avenfield and Al-Azizia corruption references, but his sentence in the latter case was suspended on medical grounds in 2019. After returning from exile in the UK, Sharif filed applications for the restoration of his appeals against his convictions.