ISLAMABAD - Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif complained of mistreatment on Thursday after an accountability court rejected Sharif family’s pleas for a seven-day exemption from court appearance.

Speaking to the media after the court appearance, he said about former general-president Pervez Musharraf that those who abrogated the constitution were enjoying life abroad while a three-time elected premier was facing courts.

The PML-N leader told journalists that he was ready to sit down with all political parties for consultation.

When asked if he was open to talks with the army, the ex-PM stressed the need to maintain the supremacy of the constitution, rule of law and democracy.

Nawaz Sharif said he was ready to sit with ‘everyone’. He said he would engage with all political parties, army and other institutions provided “they stay in their defined boundaries”.

The former premier also urged the media to play a role in his case and tell the truth to the people.

Earlier, Nawaz – along with his daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law Muhammad Safdar – appeared before judge Mohammad Bashir as the court resumed hearing of NAB references against them.

The defence lawyers submitted a new medical report of Kulsoom Nawaz along with their clients’ plea, seeking seven-day exemption from March 26 to attend the ailing wife of the deposed premier.

The court rejected the pleas as NAB prosecutor argued that the cases against the Sharifs were at the final stage and they should not be allowed to leave the country.

NAB witness Wajid Zia, the head of Panama JIT, recorded his statement in the court in Avenfield reference against the Sharifs.

Zia said that the Sharif family did not provide any evidence regarding their financial dealings with the Qatari prince in their statements while appearing before the joint investigation team.

He said that the claim of the Sharif family related to the transaction of 12 million Dirhams with the Qatari prince could not be verified. He also said that they contacted the Qatari prince time and again to record his statement in the case but to no avail.

This made the team to conclude that the Qatari prince did not cooperate financially with the Sharif family for London flats, he said.

During the hearing, counsel of Sharif family also cross-examined Zia. After arguments of both the parties, the court adjourned the hearing until March 27.

Mistreatment to three-time PM

Later while talking to the media Nawaz Sharif said he wanted to draw attention to the contradictions in this country. He recalled that Wajid Zia would stand outside former president General (r) Pervez Musharraf’s house in Chak Shahzad for hours to record his statement but the retired army chief would not meet him.

On the other hand, he said, he despite being a three-time prime minister was himself appearing in the courts.

He recalled the moment when former Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry was grabbed by the hair and thrown into a car by police on March 13, 2007 after being deposed by Musharraf. No contempt notice was taken of that incident but now a contempt notice was being issued every other day, Nawaz complained.

He said that he was first ousted from office and then declared ineligible as party chief on the excuse of holding an iqama. He said that attempts were now being made to ban him from politics for life.

The former premier challenged to prove even a single case of corruption against him. He said that calls were being made to put his name on the exit control list despite his serving the country as the prime minister.

Nawaz said that there was no comparison between today’s state of economy with the one when he himself was PM. As he said, at that time all international economic surveys were favouring and projecting Pakistan’s economic indicators. He said that during his tenure as premier improvement could be seen in every sector of the country.

Opposition bashing

Nawaz Sharif rejected the claim of Pakistan People’s Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari that ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz backtracked from the charter of democracy.

He expressed his disappointment over PPP’s role in the recently held Senate elections and said that consultations could not be made with the PPP for the interim setup and the caretaker prime minister due to its “negative politics”. He asked why the need arose to bring in-house change in the Balochistan Assembly.

Talking about Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan, he said that change could really be seen now in the streets, as the PTI chief would earlier address public rallies in prominent places but now he was addressing people in the streets.

To a question, the former premier condemned the harassment of Pakistan diplomats and their families in India.

 

 

Sharifs’ exemption plea rejected