ISLAMABAD: Nawaz Sharif in a meeting at Punjab House on Tuesday said that Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) would not back down from running the movement for restoration of justice. During the meeting, Nawaz said that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) team dined out in London with Sheikh Rasheed. The cases against him and his family should be closed because they cannot find any evidence, which supports that Nawaz is guilty. “When will NAB stop its search to find evidence against me?” he questioned. “Now they want to make a case against Shehbaz Sharif. He should be commended on building roads and not being sent references.” Nawaz said that they haven’t accepted the court’s orders over disqualification and that the nation has also rejected this decision. “The judges who gave the verdict want face-saving now. I was certain that they wouldn’t find anything against me. That’s why I did not challenge the court orders,” he added. International Monetary Fund (IMF) report suggests that Pakistan is 16 points ahead of India and Pakistanis must appreciate that, he said. Discussing the verdict Nawaz said: “The judges who gave the verdict know that I was not guilty. When they couldn’t find anything they got interim references. I am fighting for the nation and its people. Because of this I am facing a lot of trouble too.” Talking about Musharraf, he said that nobody has the audacity to bring him to Pakistan. Talking about the unfortunate rape, killing of Zainab, Nawaz said that it is a horrible and shameful incident for Pakistan and Asma’s case incredibly disappointing too. “A lot of politics was played over this issue and that shows that the people don’t have a heart for the deceased child.” Over his quick verdict, Nawaz said that more often than not, the cases are pending for years but his case was heard within six months. Throwing his weight behind CM Punjab Shehbaz Sharif, Nawaz said that those who wish that Shehbaz parts ways with us, they are mistaken, no such thing will happen. During Ghulam Ishaq Khan’s tenure, an attempt was made for Shehbaz to drift away from the party but that never happened. The second time this was done in Musharraf’s era and this time it’s happening again. But let me remind you, that would not happen under any circumstance. Nawaz conclusively stated that he is not afraid of anything that may come his way, and he assured that the elections would take place on time. Published in Daily Times, January 24th 2018.