A court in Pakistan on Thursday granted several days of protection from arrest to former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in graft cases, clearing the way for him to return home from self-imposed exile in London, where he went in 2019 for medical treatment.

The decision by the Islamabad High Court is a major boost for Sharif and his party and comes two days before he is to return to Pakistan ahead of parliamentary elections in January as the country faces deepening political and economic turmoil.