In his first response to Islamabad High Court (IHC) order regarding release of members of Sharif family, Prime Minister Imran Khan said that government fully respects all orders and verdicts of courts of the country.
During a consultation meeting at his Bani Gala residence, the prime minister said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) doesn’t believe in politics of revenge, adding that the courts will enjoy full independence under the party’s government.
The PM, however, said that corruption is country’s biggest issue and PTI government believes in strengthening state institutions, so they can catch powerful criminals.
Party leader Babar Awan briefed the premier about the legal aspects of the IHC order. Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari, Finance Minister Asad Umer, and PM’s adviser Naeemul Haque also attended the meeting.
On Wednesday, Islamabad High Court suspended the sentences of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law Mohammad Safdar in the Avenfield corruption reference.
An accountability court on July 6 sentenced Nawaz Sharif to 10 years in prison. His daughter Maryam Nawaz was given 7 years imprisonment for abetment and her husband Captain (r) Safdar was handed one-year jail term in the graft reference filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on the orders of the Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, the anti-corruption watchdog has decided to challenge the IHC verdict in the top court.
Published in Daily Times, September 21st 2018.