A Pakistani court issued an arrest warrant for ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif after he failed to appear before the court over anti-corruption allegations, local media said yesterday, but he can avoid arrest by paying bail.

In Pakistan, "bailable arrest warrants" often act as a warning to deter absences from court, but a judge can later issue non-bailable warrants that are more serious and could see Sharif arrested when he returns to Pakistan.

Sharif, who is presently in London where his wife is being treated for cancer, faces three separate corruption charges from the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), an anti-corruption body which has its own courts. Sharif's two sons and his daughter Maryam, who is viewed as Sharif's heir-apparent, are also facing NAB trials.

The Supreme Court of Pakistan disqualified Sharif from office this July in the Panama Papers case. The court ruled that Sharif had acted in an untrustworthy manner by failing to declare a salary from his son's Dubai-based company ahead of the 2013 general election.