LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Maryam Nawaz said on Saturday that the opponents of her father, party chief Nawaz Sharif, were worthless and had nothing to rely on except sit-ins, NAB cases and the “umpire’s finger”. Speaking at an event in Lahore, Maryam said cases were being filed against her father under a conspiracy. “The witnesses who are produced before courts against my father aren’t even aware what they are there to testify about,” she added. “They [the witnesses] are handed over papers and when they are asked about it in court, they have no idea what is written on them.” Maryam said everyone knew that an iqama (UAE work permit) was obtained merely for a visa but it had been used to disqualify her father. “My father’s political rivals are so scared of him that alliances are being formed to counter him,” she said. The PML-N leader pointed out that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan had been repeatedly changing his stance in the Supreme Court. “He [Imran] says he got struck on his head and that’s why he forgot about the details of his London flat sale,” she said. She said that even after Imran accepted his assets and offshore company, the court did not. She added that perhaps the “courts know matters related to Imran better than him”. “The helicopter that Imran Khan uses is run on the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government’s funds but nobody asks him about that.” She said that the fear of Nawaz Sharif had led his political opponents to form political alliances. Published in Daily Times, December 31st 2017.