“I have never misused powers while holding a public office,” Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif said on Monday. He was speaking to the media inside the courtroom after he was sentenced to seven years in prison in Al-Azizia Steel Mills corruption reference. “All praise to that Almighty, my conscience is clear since I was never involved in corruption,” he said. Another black day for Pakistan: Abbasi PML-N leaders have dismissed the accountability court’s verdict against Nawaz Sharif as “another black decision” in the judicial history of the country. Speaking to the media after the verdict, former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi condemned the verdict, saying there was no evidence or witnesses in the Flagship case. “In fact, [the] witnesses said Nawaz Sharif has no connection to the case. This is another black day for Pakistan, another black decision,” Abbasi said. The PML-N leader pointed out that the Al-Azizia Steel mills were built when Nawaz was out of the country. “If this is the proof that Nawaz has been convicted for, then every Pakistani working abroad is a criminal,” Abbasi held. Published in Daily Times, December 25th 2018.