When the former prime minister of Pakistan Imran Khan was arrested last month, it triggered uproar across the country, with days of protest and violence. The unrest was not limited to Islamabad: it also spilled over into the streets of London.
Such was the disruption at one address just off London’s exclusive Park Lane that the Metropolitan police imposed a dispersal order on the area, temporarily banning gatherings. The street is allegedly home to Khan’s bitter rival, Nawaz Sharif, a three-time former prime minister of Pakistan and brother of the current leader, Shehbaz Sharif.
Khan has accused Pakistan’s army chief of ordering his arrest on corruption charges, in comments that cast a spotlight on the status of the country’s powerful military. It is perhaps not surprising that Pakistani politics is closely followed in the UK. There were 1.6 million British Pakistanis in England and Wales counted in the 2021 census – in part a legacy of Pakistan’s status as a former British colony until it was created in the violent Partition of India in 1947.
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The Sharif family’s investment in expensive London property was first disclosed in 1998 by a political opponent. Reportedly four apartments knocked together to create a single flat, the Sharif family’s residence in Avenfield House on Park Lane also overlooks Hyde Park.
In 2016, the leaked Panama Papers revealed that Sharif’s family – including his daughter and political heir, Maryam Nawaz Sharif – had raised a £7m loan against four apartments in the building.
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And since Khan’s fall from power the Sharif family has regained its place at the pinnacle of Pakistani politics. Shehbaz Sharif last year said he was consulting his brother over the formation of a cabinet, while Maryam Nawaz Sharif has taken up the role of leader of the PML-N party after her corruption conviction was quashed last year.
Hawley (an anti-corruption compaigner) said: "The fact that Sharif was able to escape justice in Pakistan by coming to the UK, then stayed on running businesses and directing political activities here is the real immigration scandal. There is clearly one rule for corrupt politicians and another for genuine refugees when it comes to the UK immigration system."
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www.theguardian.com
Such was the disruption at one address just off London’s exclusive Park Lane that the Metropolitan police imposed a dispersal order on the area, temporarily banning gatherings. The street is allegedly home to Khan’s bitter rival, Nawaz Sharif, a three-time former prime minister of Pakistan and brother of the current leader, Shehbaz Sharif.
Khan has accused Pakistan’s army chief of ordering his arrest on corruption charges, in comments that cast a spotlight on the status of the country’s powerful military. It is perhaps not surprising that Pakistani politics is closely followed in the UK. There were 1.6 million British Pakistanis in England and Wales counted in the 2021 census – in part a legacy of Pakistan’s status as a former British colony until it was created in the violent Partition of India in 1947.
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Park Lane
For the people of Pakistan, the Hyde Park Place property is of significance not just because of Malik Riaz. The family of the property developer bought the house using a British Virgin Islands shell company in 2016 from Hasan Nawaz Sharif, a son of Nawaz Sharif, for £42.5m. The Sharif family had owned the property since at least 2007, in between Nawaz Sharif’s second and third stints as prime minister.....
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The Sharif family’s investment in expensive London property was first disclosed in 1998 by a political opponent. Reportedly four apartments knocked together to create a single flat, the Sharif family’s residence in Avenfield House on Park Lane also overlooks Hyde Park.
In 2016, the leaked Panama Papers revealed that Sharif’s family – including his daughter and political heir, Maryam Nawaz Sharif – had raised a £7m loan against four apartments in the building.
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Return to prominence
In 2019, Nawaz Sharif left Pakistan for the UK, reportedly on medical grounds. Since then, videos published on social media appeared to show the ex-politician, now aged 73, walking in London, including in Hyde Park.And since Khan’s fall from power the Sharif family has regained its place at the pinnacle of Pakistani politics. Shehbaz Sharif last year said he was consulting his brother over the formation of a cabinet, while Maryam Nawaz Sharif has taken up the role of leader of the PML-N party after her corruption conviction was quashed last year.
Hawley (an anti-corruption compaigner) said: "The fact that Sharif was able to escape justice in Pakistan by coming to the UK, then stayed on running businesses and directing political activities here is the real immigration scandal. There is clearly one rule for corrupt politicians and another for genuine refugees when it comes to the UK immigration system."
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Why two luxury London homes are at the centre of Pakistan’s turmoil
The unrest that engulfed the country after Imran Khan’s arrest is linked to valuable properties in the British capital. They have raised concerns about the UK’s status as a haven for political elites and their money
