ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Friday sounded optimistic about the outcome of the Supreme Court decision in Panama Papers case and said that they would exploit all legal and constitutional options in case of an adverse verdict.
He expressed these views at a high-level consultative meeting attended by senior party leaders, cabinet members and his legal team contesting the case in the apex court.
The legal team briefed the participants on the legal fallouts of the case and the government’s possible defence in case of an adverse decision.
The worse possible outcome could be disqualification of the prime minister and sending of the cases against the Sharif family to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and other relevant quarters for further legal process.
Sources aware of the deliberations of the meeting informed The Nation that the prime minister’s counsel Khawaja Haris also briefed Sharif about Volume 10 of the joint investigation team (JIT) report in person.
The volume, sources said was not shared with the participants of the meeting including Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
These sources said that as expected Federal Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan did not turn up, and reportedly was sitting nearby in the Punjab House dealing with his routine work.
Some sources close to Nisar Ali Khan informed The Nation that he had developed serious differences with the prime minister on being ignored and casual treatment by the PM in the presence of other cabinet colleagues who were far junior to him.
Sources said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in his brief address to the participants of the meeting said that instead of taking immunity available to him, he had not only presented himself but also his family for accountability.
Sharif reiterated his position that he would accept whatever the court verdict would be in the case and expressed his optimism that he would get justice from the apex court.
Sources further said that all those present in the meeting had once again expressed their unflinching support and loyalty to the prime minister and pledged to stand by him through thick and thin.
The participants of the meeting said that they would accept whatever decision party leadership would take in case of an adverse SC decision.
Sources said that though Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had not discussed the options with the party leaders in case of his disqualification by the apex court but had secured the pledge from the party leaders present in the meeting that they would stand with him and would follow the course drawn by the party’s top leadership.
Sources said that it was further decided in the meeting that the party would not leave any political vacuum in the post-verdict scenario and would give a tough time to opposition parties.
Sources confirmed to The Nation that the option of prime minister’s replacement in case of his disqualification did not come up for discussion in the meeting as all the participants reposed full confidence in the leadership of Nawaz Sharif.
The prime minister criticised the opposition parties for their “negative policies”, which were just aimed at dislodging him.
He expressed his resolve that the PML-N would not let the opponents succeed in their nefarious designs against the development agenda of the government.
Sources said that it was further decided in the meeting that party leadership would play up the point in public that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his family were not found involved in corruption of public money and they were just dragged in the issue relating to their family business.
They said that PML-N would launch a controlled agitation in case of prime minister’s disqualification to build public pressure and to make their electorate realise that their leadership was subjected to victimisation and was implicated in legal intricacies of their family businesses.
However, sources close to the ruling party informed The Nation that the matter of the prime minister’s replacement in case of his disqualification was considered in family and a few close confidants and the final word in this connection would be of Nawaz Sharif.