Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was reported on Friday to have denied accepting any sympathy from those who forged cases against him and his family, a private TV channel reported. The premier’s point of view was shared by federal law minister Azam Nazir Tarar in a statement made in response to media reports stating that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had decided to not pursue the money laundering case against PM Shehbaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz Sharif. “We will defend the cases and will get justice on merit,” Tarar said quoting the PM while addressing the legal fraternity at a welcome event hosted following his appointment as the law minister by the Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA), representatives of Pakistan Bar Council, Punjab Bar Council and other bar councils at the LHC premises. Later, speaking to the media, Tarar stated that ex-PM Mian Nawaz Sharif had categorically stated that early elections could not be possible without taking allied parties into confidence. “The matter is being discussed in London and we will also discuss it in Pakistan,” he added. Acknowledging the difficulties currently being faced by the government, he pointed to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) failings, adding that the government remained committed to putting the country on the right track. The law minister at his visit to the LHCBA approved a grant of Rs20 million to LHCBA’s representatives in recognition for their efforts in resolving the problems of the legal community and added a request to clear all pending salaries of the employees. He said he held lawyers in a high regard and that PM Shehbaz Sharif had clearly directed him to keep “prompt dispensation of justice” a top priority. Tarar also announced plans for the construction of a judicial complex where 30 central federal courts will be housed. Claiming that most of the work had already been completed on a lawyer’s housing society, he promised that allocation letters would soon be dispatched. Referring to the LHCBA’s diagnostic centre, he said that the provincial government was to take over to ensure the provision of quality facilities. He furthered that a draft for the Lawyers Protection Act had almost been completed in consultation with representatives of bar councils.