Graft accused Nawaz Sharif set to return as PML-N chief

Islamabad: Former Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who was forced to step down after a tribunal accused him in a graft case, is set to be re-elected as president of the ruling PML-N, a media report said on Monday.

PML-N's Central Working Committee (CWC) has agreed to amend the party's constitution, paving way for his return, the Pakistani daily Dawn reported.

He had to vacate his party president post after he was accused of graft. 

Monday's CWC session was attended by PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, party chairman Raja Zafarul Haq and Punjab CM Shahbaz Sharif, among others.

It marks the formal process of re-electing Sharif as party president, the report said. Earlier in the day, Nawaz had appeared before the accountability court here where the graft case against him is being heard.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has filed three graft cases against him and his family. However, the former PM has not been charged formally.

Besides Nawaz, his children Hussain, Hassan and Maryam, and son-in-law Mohammad Safdar, are also accused of corruption.