ISLAMABAD, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- A court in Pakistan on Monday rejected a petition seeking suspension of a jail term of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on health grounds, lawyers said.
Sharif, who is serving seven-year jail term in a corruption case, was receiving medical treatment at a hospital in the city of Lahore.
An anti-graft court had jailed him for seven years on corruption charges related to owning steel mills abroad in December.
A two-member bench of the Islamabad High Court dismissed petitions about the suspension of the sentence and seeking bail for the former prime minister.
The judges did not explain the reasons for dismissal of the petition in a short judgment. A detailed verdict will be announced later.
Sharif was shifted to a hospital in Lahore, the capital of Punjab province, last week.
Supporters of Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) gathered outside the court and chanted slogans in favor of the former leader.
Hundreds of police officials and paramilitary troops were deployed outside the court to maintain order.
Former Prime Minister and PML-N senior leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi showed disappointment at the decision and said Sharif has the right to get relief for treatment.
The case, known as the Al-Azizia Steel Mills references, in which Sharif is serving a jail term, relates to building a steel mill in Saudi Arabia, and the court ruled that Sharif had failed to provide money trail of the investment.
