News Analysis |
The deposed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif declared that the people of Lodhran took revenge against those who tried to take revenge against him. He said this while speaking to media outside the accountability court in Islamabad on Tuesday. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief said that he was being punished for serving the country.
Sharif further stated that the accountability court hearings were part of a conspiracy and there was no need for a supplementary reference if there was any truth to the current reference. In a reference to former dictator Pervez Musharraf, Sharif said that those who broke the law and jailed the judges were not being held accountable.
The judiciary is biased against him and the decisions against him were based on prejudice rather than fact has worked out. A number of anchorpersons predict that PML-N will be the victorious party in the 2018 elections irrespective of the outcome of the graft cases.
Nawaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz and Captain (Retd) Safdar appeared before the accountability court today for the hearing of three corruption references against them. The hearing was postponed till 15th February because Maryam and Safdar’s lawyer Khawaja Harris didn’t make it to the court owing to the death of renowned lawyer and human rights activist Asma Jehangir.
Four witnesses were ready to testify in front of the accountability court today but their statements could not be documented. Some of the witnesses were going to testify via a video link from UK. Now they’ll record their testimonies on 22nd February. Nawaz Sharif has requested for a two week exemption from the hearings starting 19th February, stating that he has to travel to London for his wife’s treatment taking place there.
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National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had filed a supplementary reference against the Sharif family on 22nd January which included seven witnesses, including two UK based witnesses. The reference was accepted by the accountability court and the witnesses were allowed to testify via video link. Sharif family had objected to the video testimony of UK based witnesses but they were turned down.
The victories of PML-N in the NA-120 and NA-154 by-elections have proved that PML-N is still the most popular and biggest party of Punjab, maybe even Pakistan, despite everything that Nawaz has been through in the past two years.
The Transparency International (TI), an International non-governmental Organization (INGO), has started their probe into five controversial properties in the UK including Sharif family’s Avenfield properties. The investigations were started under the new ‘Unexplained Wealth Order’ law in the UK, which calls for declaration of source of wealth while purchasing land.
Some reporters are arguing that Nawaz Sharif is playing delay tactics to avoid the court hearings. His sudden visit to his wife in London also raises suspicion. Some analysts believe that his sudden visit to the UK might be related to the TI probe against his Avenfield properties. The base of the UK investigation is that Sharif bought the Avenfield properties without mortgage over a three year period.
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They believe that the worth of the properties is more than Sharif’s declared income. The investigations against controversial properties were started because the UK has long been a hub of money laundering by rich politicians all across the world. The new law against unexplained wealth was passed to counter money laundering in the country.
The reference was accepted by the accountability court and the witnesses were allowed to testify via video link. Sharif family had objected to the video testimony of UK based witnesses but they were turned down.
NAB believes that the two witnesses in the UK will present decisive evidence against the Sharif’s in the Avenfield properties reference, NAB and TI might collaborate to find evidence against the Sharif family which will land Nawaz Sharif into deep waters. According to some political experts, Nawaz’s request for leaving the country might be an attempt to flee the country , which could be in foresight of his possible arrest in the NAB references.
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Media analysts believe that Nawaz is right about one thing that the people of Pakistan are behind. The victories of PML-N in the NA-120 and NA-154 by-elections have proved that PML-N is still the most popular and biggest party of Punjab, maybe even Pakistan, despite everything that Nawaz has been through in the past two years.
His rhetoric that the judiciary is biased against him and the decisions against him were based on prejudice rather than fact has worked out. A number of anchorpersons predict that PML-N will be the victorious party in the 2018 elections irrespective of the outcome of the graft cases.