On Saturday, Sharif also appeared before the court amid a tight security. The appellants recorded their statements, saying Sharif had convinced them that he had nothing to do with the case and that his defence was enough to stop them from objecting to his acquittal.
The notorious shooting incident took place on April 4, 1998, leaving five people dead near the Sabzazar police station and then the police brought up cases against a dozen. Then in a hearing on January 29, appellant Saeed-ud-Din had offered acquittal to Sharif if he defended himself under oath in the court that he was never involved.
After the verdict, Shahbaz said he believed in the rule of law and then talked about the collaboration between the Pakistan Peoples Party and the PML-N to form the coalition governments in the centre and Punjab. "We will prove a two-thirds majority in the Punjab Assembly soon. People have given their verdict to restore the judiciary, which will be our top priority," he added.