ISLAMABAD: Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday said he is being victimised in the name of Accountability and questioned on which grounds, he is being subjected to political revenge and for how long he has to appear in the court. Those who had filed references against us only want to punish me, he added.
Talking to media persons after appearing in the Accountability Court, Sharif said that Monday’s by-poll victory in Lodhran is “the public’s response to these cases,” adding that the “people of Pakistan are fighting my case. I salute them.”
Ex-PM further asked why the court is not arresting those who imposed Martial Law in the country and detained judges.
The former Prime Minister said he wonders how long such “supplementary references” will continue to be submitted. He was referring to the additional reference filed by NAB in the Avenfield case and the expected filing of similar supplementary references in the other two cases.
“There’s nothing in them. They are the same references that have been re-packaged. Had there been any substantial truth and evidence in the original reference there’d be no need for additional references,” said Nawaz.
Terming the ongoing cases against him ‘victimisation in the name of accountability’, the three-time prime minister said “‘they’ want Nawaz punished one way or the other. But I’m happy the people of Pakistan are with us as seen in the Lodhran by-election result”.
Turning his guns on former president Pervez Musharraf, Nawaz said, “I’m not scared. I’m facing this ‘accountability’. But ‘they’ should also go after him who was facing a treason case, imposed martial law twice and arrested judges. But he’s not facing any accountability, no contempt, no punishment, no fingers raised against him. But we, who served Pakistan in various fields including overcoming load shedding, defeating terrorism, building motorways and improving economy are facing the brunt. How long will these double standards continue.”
Earlier, Nawaz, accompanied by his daughter Maryam, reached the court from Punjab House. Capt (retd) Safdar had already reached the Federal Judicial Complex where the court is located.
As proceedings began, Judge Mohammad Bashir inquired if the summoned witnesses are present in court today to record their statement, to which NAB’s Deputy Prosecutor General Sardar Muzaffar Abbasi replied in the affirmative.
However, the hearing could not take place owing to the lawyers’ boycott of courts over the death of noted lawyer Asma Jahangir. The prosecution expressed displeasure at the adjournment, saying the witnesses and prosecution suffer owing to adjournments. The hearing was then adjourned until February 15. INP