Bringing Nawaz back a test of govt

ISLAMABAD/LAHORE: The government and the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) have become active to bring former prime minister and PML-N Rahber Muhammad Nawaz Sharif back from the UK after his increasing contacts and consultations with the opposition parties.

Nawaz Sharif’s politicking has thrown a serious challenge to the government and official proceedings to bring him back will be initiated next week.

It has been learnt that the National Accountability Bureau will approach an accountability court to declare Nawaz a proclaimed offender in the Toshakhana case.

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday, August 20 disposed of a petition filed by Nawaz against declaring him absconder in the Toshakhana case.

A division bench – comprising Chief Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Aamer Farooq – took up the petition.

The court dismissed the petition seeking withdrawal of non-bailable arrest warrant for Nawaz in the case when his counsel Barrister Jahangir Khan Jadoon sought permission to withdraw it.

An accountability court on Tuesday, August 18 passed orders for seizure of vehicles of former president Asif Ali Zardari and Nawaz Sharif in Toshakhana case.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had requested the court to seize the vehicles of PPP co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari and PML-N Rahber Muhammad Nawaz Sharif. The court froze Zardari’s ownership of three vehicles, including two BMWs and one Lexus car. The ownership of one Mercedes owned by Nawaz Sharif was also seized. The NAB has also decided to inform the IHC that Nawaz was an absconder. The bureau will file an appeal with the court for implementation of Nawaz Sharif’s sentence in Al Azizia reference.

Meantime, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) will hear former prime minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif’s appeal against his sentence in Al-Azizia Steel Mills reference on September 1. A divisional bench – comprising Justice Aamir Farooq and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani – will hear the appeal. The court has also fixed for hearing the NAB’s appeals against extension in Nawaz Sharif‘s sentence and acquittal in the flagship reference.

It merits a mention here that the Accountability Court Judge Muhammad Arshad Malik had given verdicts in Al-Azizia Steel Mills and Flagship References. Arshad Malik was sacked following a video scandal.

Addressing a press conference in Lahore on Saturday, Prime Minister’s Advisor on Accountability and Interior Barrister Shahzad Akbar said the government was determined to bring Nawaz back as a convicted criminal very soon, along with his children and former finance minister Ishaq Dar.

“The government has decided to make fresh contacts with the UK government to extradite the convicted criminal who had been allowed a limited 8-week conditional bail only for medical treatment. But the criminal has never fulfilled any condition and has been roaming freely on London streets defying the law and judiciary,” he said.

Shahzad dispelled the impression that the PTI government was politically victimizing the PML-N chief and stressed that it was not a vendetta, but the government wanted to uphold the writ of law.

He reiterated that PM Imran Khan would never give “NRO or even its N” to the opposition leaders. He said the PTI government would write letters to the British government and Interpol for the extradition of Sharif family members. He told a questioner that the judiciary and the Punjab government had rejected the extension requests in Nawaz Sharif’s conditional bail and thus his status was now a convicted absconder.

He said Nawaz Sharif was permitted the bail only to get medical treatment from abroad, on conditions to return to the country within the stipulated time. Secondly, he was bound to submit his periodical medical reports and updates to the court as well as the Punjab government. But Nawaz never submitted any report, to either the court or the Punjab government, he added.

Shahzad explained that Nawaz was granted conditional bail by the Islamabad High Court on October 29, 2019 for eight weeks for medical treatment in the Al-Azizia case. The Punjab government was to proceed the case under Code of Criminal Procedure and conduct a proper hearing after his return. Later, Shahbaz Sharif filed an undertaking in the Lahore High Court on November 16, assuring that Nawaz would return after the required medical procedures. But after the eight-week bail had expired on December 23, Nawaz appealed to the Punjab government for an extension in his bail, he said.

Shahzad said since the bail was granted on medical grounds, the Punjab government constituted another medical board, which demanded fresh reports of Nawaz’s treatment in London. But the board was not satisfied with the reports as Nawaz had not been given even a single injection over there, he said, adding that the medical board had thus recommended against extending Nawaz’s bail. Later, three hearings took place this year on February 19, 20, and 21, where Nawaz’s lawyer, doctor, and party members submitted documents describing Nawaz's health problems. The Punjab Home Department rejected extension in his bail on February 27, and demanded that Nawaz should return to Pakistan immediately and surrender before authorities.

Later, Nawaz’s lawyer filed an application in the Islamabad High Court, claiming that he had not received the government’s decision, which the PML-N had actually received, claimed Shahzad and added that he had brought this order to satisfy media and if someone could send it to Nawaz. He said the order has also been sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the direction to send it to the British government. Shahzad said recently, on August 18, the IHC declared Nawaz an “absconder" as his bail has expired. The federal government wants to proceed in the case with the help of the NAB. He lamented that this dual standard of accountability could not be continued in Pakistan as common people hardly get any relief or parole, but people like Nawaz Sharif who has been disqualified for life by the Supreme Court and found guilty in two cases, is enjoying his life in London.

Shahzad said Nawaz Sharif was convicted for seven years in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills case, and would not be able to enter practical politics for the next seven centuries. Nawaz was disqualified for life, said Shahzad. He told a questioner that Pakistan has an agreement with Britain for the "exchange of criminals and the law is applicable to all criminals.

To another query, he said, Nawaz's political activism is confined to the Oxford Street, while his daughter Maryam's politics is restricted to Twitter. About Ishaq Dar, he said he has also been declared an absconder by an accountability court in 2017 and the government would not allow him to stay further in London, and bring him back along with Nawaz's children.

About Shahbaz Sharif, Shahzad said the PML-N president "is free nowadays and should appear before the NAB". He added that the relevant institutions have stepped up efforts to prosecute Jahangir Tareen and Suleman Shahbaz. "If these people resist against being a part of the probe, we will issue red warrants against them,” he added.

Talking about “NRO plus”, a reference to the opposition’s proposed amendments to the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO-1999), he said Imran Khan won't even give the "N" of "NRO plus" to the opposition. He said Pakistan is in danger of moving from the Financial Action Task Force's "grey list" to "black list", and added that if it happened, “we would become like Iraq and Iran, and wouldn't even be able to import medicines”. He said after receiving a list of recommendations from the FATF, a civil servant has been appointed as director-general FATF. In charge institutions such as Counterterrorism Department, State Bank, Federal Investigation Agency, National Accountability Bureau, ministries, and provincial governments are also involved to address the FATF issue.

He said: "All watchdogs are made non-functional and an institutional capture took place that was noted by the international forum.” He said the PTI views money-laundering as a serious offence while the opposition did not consider this crime "serious". He said: "The biggest bottleneck is money-laundering as the opposition is asking us to not bring the crime under serious offences.”

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) leaders Saturday warned the government against using the NAB as a political weapon against the opposition parties.

Addressing separate news conferences in the federal and provincial capitals, PML-N Secretary Information Marriyum Aurangzeb and central leader Ahsan Iqbal said Nawaz Sharif had gone abroad after fulfilling all the legal requirements and he would come back when doctors would declare him fully fit.

Marriyum said the PTI government was desperately trying to shift focus away from their deplorable two-year performance. She said the government had launched a new onslaught against the PML-N Quaid Nawaz Sharif because Imran Khan's political existence had no roots and he could not survive without using Nawaz Sharif's name.

She said the selected prime minister could not even lay a brick as the development work while Nawaz Sharif completed various projects worth billions of rupees.

Slamming the statements regarding making those responsible for sending Nawaz abroad an example, she said the government should start the process by arresting, investigating and prosecuting Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid, board of government doctors and the Punjab government, who had clearly stated that Nawaz's treatment was not possible in Pakistan and he had to be moved abroad to save his life. Nawaz went abroad through legal processes, she said adding that Imran should set an example by bringing back the money-launderers and public sugar money looters, who he conveniently helped flee the country on a chartered plane. She demanded arrest of Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar and Jahangir Tareen, who were responsible for flour and sugar crisis in the country.

The former information minister said the new wave of hoopla against Nawaz was because the Imran-led mafia government knew it had destroyed every sector in the country from its economy, industry, to businesses, and jeopardised national defence and security.

She said Imran's corruption and corrupt decisions had plummeted national growth from 5.8 to minus 0.4, sugar price has reached Rs110/kg from Rs52, flour from Rs32 to Rs78, medicines have become unaffordable because of PTI's 500 per cent price-hike, petrol had hit the roof with unprecedented price-hike and inflation had skyrocketed from 3 to 13 per cent.

Marriyum said Imran inaugurated Nawaz Sharif's initiated projects and then alleged corruption in the same projects. “Why hasn't he shut down any of these projects if they were marred by corruption,” she questioned.

She said the NAB-Niazi alliance was not just called out and criticised by the opposition but the Supreme Court of Pakistan too. She said the international rights bodies slammed it as an instrument of political engineering and persecution of opposition. She stressed that the PML-N would stand strong against any law that hampered the national growth and progress. She said those who embezzled Rs13,000 billion in loans, Rs120 billion in Peshawar BRT, trillions in sugar, wheat, flour and petrol corruption, were now busy laundering that money.

Marriyum pointed out that it was the joint opposition that included the money laundering clause in the FATF related legislation. She told the government mouthpieces like Shahzad Akbar to read the letter written by Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi lauding and appreciating the opposition's role in FATF related legislation before doing a presser filled with lies.

The PML-N secretary information warned the PTI government against politicising matters related to national security such as FATF, as it would have devastating long-term consequences. Stop telling PML-N what it should do regarding the FATF legislation because it had more knowledge and experience of such matters than the PTI, she said.

She once again challenged Imran to file a case in the court and name those who demand an NRO. She lambasted that the selected PM had neither the power nor the mandate to give anyone any NRO other than his mafia friends who loot the country.

"Imran Khan has intentionally taken every action to destroy every sector and institutions of the country with a well-planned agenda motivated by the money of those 23 illegal and undeclared accounts for which he refused to answer," she said.

Answering a question regarding the all parties conference (APC), she said the Rahber Committee is busy formulating the agenda of the conference because the upcoming sitting would not end with just a declaration but start a movement to send the government packing.

Separately, PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal said Prime Minister Imran Khan and his advisors should resign if they think they were deceived on the issue of Nawaz Sharif’s health.

Addressing a press conference at 180-H Model Town Lahore on Saturday, he said Nawaz Sharif was sent abroad after complete examination by senior doctors including Chief Executive of Shaukat Khanum Hospital Dr Faisal. Why he was made health advisor if he had deceived prime minister, he asked. Dr Faisal had said the condition of Nawaz Sharif was not good and he should be sent abroad for treatment. Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid had also confirmed that the condition of Nawaz Sharif was critical.

He said Nawaz Sharif would come back when doctors would give him certificate of good health.

Ahsan Iqbal said actually Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government has been doing politics on Nawaz Sharif health issue, like it did on the health of the late Mrs Kulsoom Nawaz.

He said actually the government had failed to fulfil the promises they had made with people. They had actually wasted 200 pages by publishing a performance report.

He said why the circular debt had increased despite increasing the rates of electricity and gas. He said after two years, the economic situation had deteriorated from bad to worse.

He claimed that the PTI Members of National Assembly (MNAs) had started saying that their government had broken all records of corruption. Jahangir Tareen was sent abroad in the darkness of night. Who made money by increasing fuel prices, he questioned.

Meanwhile, addressing a news conference at the Railways Headquarters, Lahore, Railways Minister Sheikh Rasheed said that the case of PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif and his son Hamza Shahbaz was very serious and they were in troubled waters.

To another question, Sh Rashid said former finance minister Ishaq Dar and Suleman Shahbaz could not be brought back. However, he added, Nawaz Sharif should come back and face cases against him in the courts. The railway minister said the PM was regretting why Nawaz was allowed to go abroad.