–Sharif says he didn’t request SC for permission to visit ailing wife in London
–NAB recommends Interior Ministry to put Sharifs on ECL
LAHORE: Former premier Nawaz Sharif on Monday said that if it was “necessary or compulsory” to arrive at a decision regarding him before July 25 [general polls], then the verdict should be delivered. “But if it is this way, then this is akin to tearing apart law, justice and fundamental human rights,” he said.
Addressing the media after his counsel Khawaja Haris rescued himself from representing the former premier in the corruption references filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) against the Sharif family, he said that a situation has been created where he is being denied a legal counsel, adding that no other defendant in any serious case had appeared 100 times before the court.
Sharif said that he was told to find a new lawyer and given the present circumstances, no legal counsel would be able to represent him, adding that he is not even being given enough time and is asked to appear before the court on weekends as well.
“Does the chief justice not know that justice rushed is justice crushed?” Nawaz asked in the press conference.
Holding the prosecution responsible for delays in the references, he said that it was a matter of record that his lawyers, including Haris, had never caused delays in proceedings.
On Sunday, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Mian Saqib Nisar had directed the accountability court to announce its verdict on all three corruption references against Sharif and his family within a month. During the hearing, Haris had petitioned for completing the trial in six weeks.
Announcing his decision to withdraw his legal services to Sharif during the hearing of Al-Azizia reference on Monday, Haris said the Supreme Court (SC) had “dictated on completing the trial within a month”.
Earlier, Sharif said that he had neither requested the SC for permission to visit London or for granting him an exemption from appearing in the hearings and nor planned to do so.
He was referring to CJP Nisar’s remarks that the former premier along with his daughter, Maryam, could visit his ailing wife Begum Kulsoom Nawaz in London.
In response to a question whether the top court had granted Nawaz the permission to be absent from court in the corruption references, Nawaz denied having made any request to the apex court.
“I neither made any such request and nor plan to do so,” he said in an informal conversation with journalists outside Federal Judicial Complex where he was present for the hearing of the Al-Azizia reference.
The former prime minister refused to comment when asked about Musharraf’s condition to return to Pakistan only if he was given a guarantee in all cases against him. “I won’t say anything about that,” he said.
Nawaz and his family are facing three corruption cases in the accountability court after the NAB filed references against them in light of the Supreme Court’s verdict in the Panama Papers case.
Separately, NAB wrote a letter to the Ministry of Interior to put Nawaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz, Hassan Nawaz, Hussein Nawaz and Captain (r) Safdar’s names on the Exit Control List (ECL) as the Avenfield reference case is in its last phase.
According to NAB, the verdict in the case is expected to be announced soon and there is a “fair chance of the accused of escaping the country before the decision”.