“I’m not the one to back down. I will continue to fight,” he told a condolence reference here. “On what basis is the trial being run against me? Is this decision acceptable to you,” the former premier asked.
“The cases against me are all lies. I have always worked with sincerity and devotion. I condemn corruption and kickbacks. Pakistan is the property of 220 million people. A few [people] cannot be allowed to impose monopoly on this country,” he vowed.
The former prime minister said a number of fake cases had been registered against him but corruption of not even a single penny had been proved. He said the veracity of allegations levelled against him was being exposed in courts. He said the people were asking as to why a prime minister committed to development, progress and prosperity of the country was punished. He said he was expelled from the office over a salary which he never received from his son.
Nawaz said the court proceedings should be telecast directly so that the people could themselves assess the cases. He said he had been facing the cases since 1962 when he was a 12-year-old school-going boy. He said he had so far attended 50 court hearings in Islamabad which was an insult to the millions of people who had voted him to power. The country would only make progress only when sanctity of the vote would be restored, he said.
Earlier, speaking to journalists outside the accountability court in Islamabad, Nawaz claimed that a dubious game was being played in the country. Terming the recently elected Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani a man of dubious character, Nawaz said that Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi should take notice of the situation.
The PML-N leader said the country managed to attain freedom from the British rule but is now trapped in martial laws. “There is no room to delay the general elections … it will not be accepted,” he warned.
A politician should have principles and an ideology, he said, as he evoked that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairperson Imran Khan had previously termed Zardari a disease and pledged to never shake hands with him. “Ask him, did PTI not stamp on the teer (arrow) symbol in the Senate elections? I do not know the internal workings, but the antics of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Co-chairperson Asif Zardari are shameful,” he said.
Speaking of the meeting between Prime Minister Abbasi and the chief justice, Nawaz maintained that he had not discussed the matter with the premier so far. “People have been waiting for decades for court decisions but the chief justice is busy in checking the quality of milk,” he said.
Referring to his application for exemption to visit his ailing wife in London, Nawaz said doctors in London wanted him to be present for consultations on vital medical decisions related to his wife’s treatment. “They did not allow me to visit my wife.”
When the journalists pointed out that the judge had allowed him to travel in between hearings and he had five days to do so, Nawaz said two days are spent in travelling, adding that the last break fell on the weekend when doctors in London are not available for consultation.
The three-time prime minister asserted that Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi should also take notice of the vengeful activities of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). “NAB played a role in making Musharraf’s government. He [Musharraf] admitted to this in an interview,” claimed Nawaz, referring to the election of Zafarullah Khan Jamali as prime minister during the military dictator’s tenure. Nawaz stated that it is unfortunate that NAB’s laws, made by dictators, could not be replaced. Talking about former premier Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s death anniversary, Nawaz said an elected premier was hanged on this day. “We are struggling to change this history,” he said.
Responding to a query on increased load shedding in the country despite government’s claims, the PML-N leader said that load shedding was at its minimum during his tenure as the capacity of electricity was increased by thousands of megawatts. “I will speak to the government about it to find out whether this was related to non-payment issues or something else.” Talking to reporters, Maryam said that her mother’s radiotherapy is under way after which doctors will give their opinion on her health and future course of action. She wondered how the government is supposed to function when cases have been lodged against so many government officials, adding that they are forced to sit in courts all the day.
Published in Daily Times, April 5th 2018.