Daily Times

FAISALABAD: Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s daughter Maryam Nawaz said on Thursday that nothing had been found against Nawaz Sharif in the ongoing corruption cases during the past six months.

Addressing the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) social media convention in Faisalabad, Maryam, while referring to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) references against the former prime minister, said that the deadline for the probe body had expired. “If you couldn’t find anything in six months then what will you find in two more months?” she asked. “If the joint investigation team’s ‘jewels’ (members) failed to find anything, how come the NAB officials will have any success in this regard,” she taunted.

While criticising the judiciary, Maryam Nawaz said that suo motu was taken against those who had already rescinded their dual nationality. “Those who had to give a verdict, started using words such as don, mafia, godfather, even before passing the judgment. If the decisions are based on grudges and injustice, then how will they be respected,” she said.

Maryam said that the respect for judiciary didn’t not stem from intimidation. “One after another sentence was given to Nawaz Sharif. They weren’t at ease even after dismissing him from the post of prime minister,” she said, adding that the election symbol of lion was also taken away from the party in Senate polls.

“[Nawaz Sharif] was ousted for not taking salary from his son, then he was ousted as PML-N chief,” the deposed PM’s daughter said and went on to add, “When even this couldn’t settle their rage, the Balochistan government was toppled prior to Senate elections, and then they snatched our party’s slogan.”

“Despite all this, the PML-N sill emerged victorious in the Senate polls. The party despite losing its president and identity still bounced backed stronger, emerging as the biggest party in the Senate,” she said.

Maryam said Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan wouldn’t have to wait for the ‘umpire’s decision’ had he served the masses and enjoyed their support.

“Had the judiciary’s blue-eyed [man] done something for the people, he wouldn’t need to collude with the umpire and wait for their decision,” she said, in a thinly veiled jibe at both the courts and Imran Khan.

Published in Daily Times, March 9^th 2018.