Nawaz granted bail in graft cases; arrest warrant suspended in Toshakhana case.

ISLAMABAD -- All the legal hurdles were removed on Thursday in the smooth return of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif after he was granted protective bail in two graft cases while his arrest warrant in the Toshakhana case was suspended by an accountability court.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo had approached the Islamabad High Court (IHC) for bail in Al-Azizia and Avenfield references which approved the pleas, granting bail till October 24.

The IHC announced the verdict, restraining the authorities from arresting Nawaz Sharif on his return to the country on Saturday (October 21).

The high court said the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) did not raise any objections to the protective bail sought by the PML-N supremo in corruption cases.

Earlier, an accountability court suspended the arrest warrant issued against him in the Toshakhana case.

A two-member IHC bench comprising Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb heard the Nawaz's bail petitions.

Reacting to the verdict, PML-N President and former prime minister Shehbaz Sharif welcomed the IHC decision, saying his elder brother was disqualified based on a "fictitious and fabricated story",

"The elected Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, was disqualified based on a fictitious and fabricated story. He was implicated in absurd cases and subjected to mistreatment," he wrote on X.

"Any fair hearing would have established his innocence. Bail is a fundamental right, and we welcome...