Daily Times

Poor old Nawaz. He only reads memos when the font is just so. Inevitably, he misunderstood what was meant when everyone and their cat told him to #Go. And now it seems he’s never coming back.

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has confirmed the elder Sharif’s place in Pakistan’s hall of infamy as a proclaimed absconder. As such, the former thrice-elected prime minster has had his appeals dismissed against existing corruption cases. The IHC has upheld the original verdicts of the accountability court in the Al Azizia Steel Mills and Avenfield property cases; meaning that considerable jail time and hefty fines still stand.

So far, so good.

Except that the judgement allows the kitten of the Punjab the luxury of restarting the appeal process if he either surrenders or else is apprehended by the authorities. Thus, his loss to the right of audience over repeated no-shows before the court is in no way set in stone. And just like that, the nine-page dismissal offers unprecedented relief to a known convict; thereby undermining the democratic norms of blind justice. This is a gross misstep. Not least since there is no talk of enforcement.

This scenario is similar to that of 2007 in reverse. When President-General Musharraf barred his political nemesis from setting foot in the country over breaches in the Saudi exile agreement — the Supreme Court ruled that Nawaz be allowed to return. Of course, then Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry had his own beef with the man at the top. This time around, Nawaz knows he will never again be crowned king. There is also no dictatorship against which to hoodwink political legitimacy.

But he has only lost his meow. Not the last laugh.

For far from appearing in fragile health, the elder Sharif has been clicked out and about in London Town. Drinking coffee with usual PMLN suspects, leaving a pizza parlour and watching his grandson play polo for Cambridge University. All that is left, it appears, is tea with the Queen. Yet the ongoing political speeches alone ought to alert the British authorities that Nawaz is contravening the terms of his ‘medical leave’. Furthermore, the absence of an extradition treaty between the UK and Pakistan is a moot point. Because everyone, cats and all, know that a simple prime ministerial order would suffice.

Here at home, the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly continues to hold this post and also agitate against the ruling government despite being indicted on money-laundering charges. Ditto heir apparent Maryam, who has also been convicted and sentenced in the Avenfield case.

Between them, the Sharifs have made a mockery of more than a decade of uninterrupted democracy. But they have not acted alone. It started when the LHC allowed Nawaz to leave the country in November 2019 yet rejected the Centre’s condition of Rs 7-7.5 billion in indemnity bonds. Effectively green-lighting freedom in exile. And it continues today with this judgement that shows no signs of bringing the thrice-crowned Nawaz to book.

It seems that not everyone is on the same page. *