Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Rowdyism and mayhem, apparently created by the lawyers having affiliation with the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PNL-N), forced the accountability court – set to indict ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law Capt (r) Muhammad Safdar in graft references – on Friday to adjourn the proceedings until October 19.

As soon as accountability court judge Muhammad Bashir stepped in the courtroom, where Maryam and Safdar as well as National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) prosecution team were present, a number of lawyers inadequately entered the premises and surrounded the ‘judge’s chair’, loudly complaining that their entry was being barred into the court and when they attempted to enter they were manhandled and harassed by the security personnel deployed at the entrance of the Judicial Complex.

An altercation also took place between the lawyers and the NAB prosecution team led by Deputy Prosecutor General Sardar Muzaffar Abbas. Some lawyers tried to make selfies with Maryam, however, they were stopped by their colleagues, being awkward in the courtroom.

The lawyers demanded the judge to order an inquiry into the incident and direct police to register a case against the security personnel who injured some of their colleagues. The judge then ordered the Islamabad police inspector general to inquire the incident and submit the report.

A lawyer, Jahangir Jadoon, presented before the judge a recent order of the Islamabad High Court, allowing frequent and trouble-free entry of the lawyers in the court, being ‘open courts’.

The lawyers threatened to hold up the proceedings until action was taken against the security personnel who allegedly manhandled and thrashed them outside the Judicial Complex.

The judge then proceeded to his chamber without even sitting on his chair and adjourned the matter without conducting any proceedings. The lawyers also demanded the judge to order an inquiry into the incident and direct police to register a case against the security personnel. The judge asked all the parties to leave the courtroom and adjourned the hearing prematurely until October 19.

Although NAB Deputy Prosecutor General Chaudhry Khaliquz Zaman said that Sharifs could not be indicted till he appeared in court, before Friday’s hearing, Nawaz Sharif’s lawyer claimed that he had the defendant’s permission to hear the court’s indictment verdict in his place.

Ahead of the hearing of the graft references against Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam and son-in-law Capt (r) Safdar, a number of lawyers and supporters of PNL-N reached the Judicial Complex. However, when the personnel of police and Frontier Constabulary (FC) deployed at the court stopped them from entering the complex, a scuffle took place between them. PML-N’s senior leaders and cabinet members were present outside the Judicial Complex.

After leaving the court premises, Maryam Nawaz spoke to the media and asked the Interior Ministry to come up with a strategy to prevent such events from occurring in the future. Once PML-N supporters and lawyers found out that the hearing had been adjourned, the crowd dispersed.

State Interior Minister Tallal Chaudhry, who was present in the court, also took notice of the incident and ordered an inquiry.

Moreover, the NAB team present in court informed its headquarters regarding the incident.

NAB officials said that they were manhandled by the lawyers inside the court and the head of their prosecution team, Sardar Muzaffar, was pushed from the dais.

The former prime minister did not appear in the court as he is in London, along with his sons, to be with his wife who is undergoing treatment for lymphoma.

The court was informed regarding Nawaz’s absence, whose legal team nominated Zafir Khan as the “pleader” — the person who will stand for Nawaz in court during his indictment.

Published in Daily Times, October 14^th 2017.