- The mystery deepens
Even after the conviction the Avenfield case continues to take surprising turns. First NAB singularly failed to make a strong case, resulting in Nawaz, Maryam and Safdar getting bail. Now the Islamabad High Court (IHC) has found that the conviction itself as well as the sentences handed down to the three in the landmark corruption case “might not be ultimately sustainable.” Even though the detailed verdict, which was authored by Justice Athar Minallah, also pointed out that the observation was based on “prima facie, tentative opinion” after “plain reading of the judgment and tentative assessment of evidence,” it does point to a few important factors.
The prosecution also, apparently, made a hash of its claim of Maryam’s dependence on her father, since the accountability court’s judgment did not refer to any evidence proving that she aided Nawaz in acquiring the apartments. And since the convictions of Maryam and Safdar depend on whether or not Nawaz’s conviction holds, this case could still head off into an unexpected direction altogether. And even though the final decision is some time away, and Nawaz has the other two references to deal with, these latest developments will still add to his stock in Pakistan’s political bazar. If two senior judges think his conviction can be overturned, then there might just be some light left at the end of his tunnel.
This case must already have some senior people in the judiciary scratching their heads, to say the least. How could the same evidence that got Nawaz, Maryam and Safdar thrown behind bars now prove insufficient? And if they did have strong grounds for bail, why let the process take so long? They had to suffer the humiliation of incarceration plus the tragic death of Begum Kulsoom Nawaz. The Sharifs’ fortunes continue to swing like a pendulum. But soon it will be clear if this mystery will deepen any further.