Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Friday demanded that cases against judges pending before the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) should also be heard in open courts, as the accountability court adjourned the hearing on graft references against Sharif family until November 7 owing to unavailability of an Islamabad High Court (IHC) order pertaining to clubbing of all three references against the former premier.

To a petition by Nawaz Sharif, the IHC on Thursday had directed the accountability court to re-hear the plea seeking to club the three references against him and issue a detailed order giving the legal reasons of its earlier decision of not clubbing the references.

“Before giving a detailed response on the matter, I have to examine the IHC order,” judge Muhammad Bashir noted as Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law Capt (r) Safdar appeared before the court.

The court waited for the IHC order for about half an hour but it did not reach. Later, it adjourned the proceeding till November 7.

Khawaja Haris Ahmad, senior counsel for Nawaz Sharif, moved a fresh application seeking to club the three references against his client. He also pleaded the court that he required time to prepare the case in light of the IHC’s detailed order, which had yet to be issued.

Now the court will first decide the plea of the ousted premier to club the references and then start regular proceedings of the case.

Informally talking to media inside the courtroom, Nawaz said he was fighting for justice and will expose those who were a hurdle in the way of justice. “Contempt of court is being committed from both inside and outside the court,” he added, without elaborating further.

“The process of accountability will not stop at me,” he said, adding that there was a sense of urgency to wrap up cases against him before the general elections next year.

When asked to comment on the anniversary of the emergency imposed by General (r) Pervez Musharraf’s on this day 10 years ago, he said there were so many ‘black days’ in the country’s 70-year long history but no lessons had been learnt. However, he added that he does not support a judiciary garlanding a dictator and protecting the ‘doctrine of necessity’.

To a question about rift within his party as well as family, Nawaz said it was only the desire of his opponents and in fact his party and the family were united.

Nawaz said Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) supremo Asif Ali Zardari was talking against him ‘to please someone’.

Replying to a question, he said there was no NRO happening between him and anyone else. .

Published in Daily Times, November 4^th 2017.