PM says ‘fixing decisions’ against Nawaz imperative to lessen country’s crisis

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday called for “reversing adverse decisions” against Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif, saying that doing so would lessen crises facing the country.

Referring to recent revelations of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior lawyer Hamid Khan, the premier in a tweet said he knew from day one that deposed PM Nawaz was framed in Panama Papers scandal “with an aim to oust him from politics and topple his government”.

PTI’s senior Lawyer Hamid Khan recently claimed that the decision to disqualify former PM Nawaz was already taken somewhere else while the Supreme Court’s decision in this regard was used to give it a legal cover.

“The recent revelations by PTI's senior lawyer and journalist about how Nawaz Sharif was deliberately framed in the Panama Papers with the aim of ousting him from government and banning him from politics is what we know from day one,” PM Shehbaz wrote in a tweet.

However, the PM said revelations regarding Nawaz’s disqualification are “very important” even today as the “truth is coming out bit by bit”.

PM Shehbaz said the prevailing crises in which the country found itself trapped today started when a conspiracy was hatched to topple Nawaz’s government and bring PTI Chairman Imran Khan to power at any cost.

In this entire process, the premier said Pakistan suffered huge losses, democratic evolution was hindered and the economy was severely affected.

“Fixing the actions taken against Nawaz Sharif is very important for the improvement of the situation. Alhamdulillah, I am proud of my leader who is on the right side of history and is being vindicated,” he added.

Before being convicted in assets beyond means cases by accountability courts, then prime minister Nawaz Sharif was disqualified for life by the Supreme Court on July 28, 2017, for being "dishonest" under Article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution.

The PML-N has repeatedly contested that Nawaz was unjustly disqualified.

Speaking on Geo News' Capital Talk programme, counsel Hamid Khan on Wednesday claimed that Nawaz's disqualification as prime minister was decided elsewhere, and Supreme Court's verdict was used just to legitimise it.

"Dawn leaks had taken place [...] and if we look at the events that follow it in chronological order, then we can understand that the decision had been made to dismiss Nawaz."

Hamid's revelation is a significant development as his party, led by PTI Chairman Imran Khan, played a key role in the disqualification of the former premier.