ISLAMABAD - Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday vowed to expedite the ‘restoration of justice’ and ‘respect vote’ movements after foreign minister Khawaja Mohammed Asif was disqualified by a court.
Addressing party workers here, Sharif, who himself was disqualified as the premier last year, said that the people’s mandate must be respected.
Earlier in the day, the Islamabad High Court disqualified Khawaja Asif from holding any public office under Article 62 (1) (f). The verdict, announced by a three-member IHC bench headed by Justice Athar Minallah, had been reserved on Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf leader Usman Dar’s plea on April 10.
Sharif said that respect of the vote will help the country prosper and progress. He said that there was no case of embezzlement, corruption and kickback against him.
“I don't know why I am on trial in the National Accountability Bureau cases. I have done nothing wrong. The NAB has done nothing in corruption cases of National Logistic Cell, the National Insurance Company Limited and the Haj (pilgrimage) scam,” he argued.
Sharif said that no action was taken against those who looted billions of rupees. “Now the NAB has come up with another case against me charging that I widened the Raiwind Road by four feet from 20 to 24 feet,” he said.
He said that the NAB could only take up cases of corruption but the case against the Sharif family revolved around its personal business since 1974 when he was not a prime minister, a chief minister or a minister. The PML-N leader said that after the 1971 war, former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto nationalized the steel mills unit and did not give the Sharif family a penny for the business started by them in 1937, adding after this, his father decided to set up a steel factory in Dubai. He reminded that no prime minister in Pakistan could complete his tenure, while in India, prime ministers completed their terms. “We must investigate the reasons behind the exile, hanging and jailing of the prime ministers,” he said.
Sharif recalled that all these actions were only taken against the elected leaders and the politicians and this was continuing for the last 70 years. “Whenever the country was put on the path of progress, hurdles were put up in the way of elected governments. I was sent to exile for seven years and spent 14 months in jail in Attock Fort,” he said.
Sharif said the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor was launched and projects including Neelum-Jhelum hydro project, Tarbela 4 extension project, Nandipur power projects were completed and energy shortages were ended to a large extent, and his government restored peace to Karachi. He said the latest project will be the new Islamabad airport which will be inaugurated on May 4.
“In 1985, I laid the foundation for development projects by constructing the Murree Expressway. Later on, we developed infrastructure in Punjab and built a six-lane motorway,” he said.
The former premier said that Pakistan's economy grew to 5.3 percent in 2017 and now will grow to about 5.9 percent, a reflection of his government's performance on the front of economy.
Sharif said: “We fought the war against terrorism and our army, police, citizens and even children gave sacrifices but despite these sacrifices, the world is not listening to us. We should seriously look into the causes that lead to such a situation,” he said.
ASIF DISQUALIFIED IN A ‘FIXED MATCH’: MARYAM
Maryam Nawaz said that Khawaja Asif was disqualified in a “fixed match.”
“Whoever you are certain you cannot defeat in a fair match, you get them disqualified through a fixed match,” she tweeted shortly after the IHC announced its verdict. She added: “The nation will now even vote for Khawaja Asif’s shadow.”
SHERRY ASKS PML-N TO
ACCEPT VERDICT
The Pakistan People’s Party yesterday asked the PML-N to accept the IHC verdict. Opposition leader in the Senate Sherry Rehman said Yousaf Raza Gilani was also removed as the PM in 2012 by the Supreme Court but the party accepted the judicial order.
“We did not make a hue and cry. We never incited the people to violence. No PM or federal minister should have work permits of other countries. They (the PML-N) are now defending their iqamas (working permits),” she said.
Senator Rehman said the foreign minister slot was the most important after the prime minister’s but the incumbent government never took it seriously. She said the government gave no respect to the Parliament in its tenure that was about to end.
PPP lawmaker Nafisa Shah took to Twitter to celebrate Asif’s ouster. “Chief Petitioner of #PML-N against #PPP has been disqualified in a petition challenging his own qualification. They say what goes around has to come around one day. #KhawajaAsif,” she tweeted, citing Gilani’s sacking in 2012 by the top court.