ISLAMABAD: Article 45 of the 1973 Constitution which gives the President of Pakistan power to pardon convicted individuals can be used to pardon Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz if the former president and his family is convicted by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), according to a report by a private media outlet.
However, this step will be available to the Sharif family only if the cases against them are wrapped up before the interim government is formed. The Accountability Court was primarily given six months period to decide these cases. The initial deadline completed on March 14. Since the trial remains incomplete till March 14, the Accountability Court has recently been given two months extension by the apex court in case of Nawaz Sharif, Maryam and Safdar’s and three months extra time in the case of Ishaq Dar.
With this extension, the new deadline for the Accountability Court in Nawaz Sharif and others’ cases is May 14, 2018, when Shahid Khaqan Abbasi-led PML-N government will still be a fortnight away from completing its tenure. In case of conviction and sentence for jail, the N-League government will have Article 45 of the Constitution to bank on to prevent their leader from going behind the bars.
Thus in order to get the jail sentence (if given) suspended, pardoned or remitted in the case of Sharifs, they would require the advice of the prime minister, which could be secured during PML-N government but may not happen during the caretaker set-up.
