- PML-N president says brother Nawaz convicted without proving ownership of London flats
- Maryam says family is being ‘taught a lesson for standing up to invisible forces’
LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif and deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s daughter Maryam Nawaz have rejected the court verdict—that sentenced Nawaz and Maryam to 10 and seven years jail, respectively—saying this is a ‘black day’ in the history of Pakistan.
“The Pakistani nation and the PML-N reject this decision. This is a dark chapter in the history of this country. There was no solid legal evidence in the entire case. This was an unfair decision,” said Shehbaz while addressing a presser immediately after the ruling.
He also called out the anti-graft bureau for targetting the Sharif family, saying that a case against another political figure –Babar Awan in the Nandipur case—was dismissed because of an unavailability of original documents, but in the case of Nawaz, the ex-PM was punished even though “there was not even a single document of evidence proving the ownership”.
Shehbaz then went on to expound his brother’s services for the nation. He said, “The person they did choose to announce a verdict against was Nawaz Sharif. No one can deny that Nawaz made Pakistan a nuclear power.”
The PML-N made true on its promises, he said while referring to the party manifesto of 2013. Alluding to the upcoming elections, Shehbaz said voters will decide the fate of Sharifs.
All future PML-N rallies will be a peaceful protest [against the court’s decision], Shahbaz said, adding, “In this situation — after today’s verdict — I would like to announce that we will take all legal action possible so that justice may be served.”
Despite Kulsoom Nawaz’s deteriorating condition, the court refused to provide him relief, said Shehbaz while referring to Nawaz’s plea for postponement of the verdict.
‘CONVICTED FOR STANDING UP TO INVISIBLE FORCES’:
Reacting to the verdict, Maryam Nawaz took to the micro-blogging site—Twitter—, saying her father “didn’t get scared and with the whole nation standing with him, he will emerge victorious”.
She termed the verdict a punishment, though not a big one, for “standing up to the invisible forces” in the country for the past 70 years.
“Nawaz Sharif, you didn’t get scared; you didn’t bow down; you preferred Pakistan on your personal life. The nation is standing with you. You will emerge victorious,”
Commenting on the return of the Sharifs, she said: “Nawaz Sharif is coming back. All efforts are being made to stop him from returning – today [the verdict] was the last effort. But all these efforts will be futile,” Maryam said.