‘You can’t kill IK chor’: Pro-Imran graffiti painted on Nawaz Sharif's office in UK
Nawaz Sharif, 72, who was convicted in the Avenfield properties case and sentenced to 10 years in prison in July 2018, has been in London since November 2019 after arriving there for a medical emergency.
A supporter of Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday sprayed a pro-Khan graffiti on the wall of Stanhope House in London, the building where former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s son Hussain has an office, in an act that constitutes ‘criminal vandalism’ under UK law.
A Twitter user named Shayan Ali posted the visuals of the protest. Ali, a British Pakistani follower of the ex-PM, posted a photo where he was seen standing against the boundary wall of Stanhope House, which was spray painted with the words: “You can’t kill IK chor”.
Ali is routinely seen outside Avenfield House and Stanhope House, shouting anti-Nawaz slogans, reported Pakistan's Dawn newspaper.
Why the recent protest?
The phrase is being construed by many on social media as being targeted at the Sharifs, news agency PTI reported. The protest in the UK's capital took place after Imran Khan was attacked in a purported “assassination attempt” at a rally in Wazirabad on November 3.
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Khan, 70, has repeatedly alleged that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the younger brother of Nawaz Sharif, is among the three people who plotted to assassinate him. However, the Prime Minister has dismissed Khan's allegations.
Laws over graffiti in UK
In the UK, under the Criminal Damage Act 1971, a person caught doing graffiti can face a prison sentence of up to ten years or a fine, if the damage costs more than 5,000 pounds.
But, if the damage caused is less than 5,000 pounds, an offender could face three months in prison or a fine of 2,500 pounds. Offenders can also be prosecuted under the Anti-Social Behaviour Act, of 2003.
Nawaz Sharif's tussle
Nawaz Sharif, 72, who was convicted in the Avenfield properties case and sentenced to 10 years in prison in July 2018, has been in London since November 2019 after arriving there for a medical emergency.
Later in December 2018, Sharif was sentenced to seven years in prison and fined $25 million on corruption charges that he said were politically motivated.
His sons, Hassan Nawaz and Hussain Nawaz who live in London, were declared as 'absconders' by a Pakistani court after they failed to appear in any of the three corruption cases lodged against them along with their father after a Supreme Court decision in July 2017.
How and when did Sharif's tenure as prime minister end?
He was disqualified as prime minister in July 2017 by the Supreme Court following a challenge to his office by cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan based on the publication of the Panama Papers, which alleged that the Sharif family stashed away assets in London.
(With PTI inputs)