Patriot Sheikh Mujib was forced to rebel: Nawaz

ISLAMABAD: Former premier Nawaz Sharif has said it is unfortunate that Imran Khan always bites the hand that feeds him.

He was talking to the media outside an accountability court on Tuesday, where he appeared in connection with the corruption cases hearing, filed against him and his family on the Supreme Court orders.

Commenting on Imran Khan’s third marriage issue, he said the PTI chief had put at stake the repute of a family and hid himself behind a curtain. Now the family and its children were forced to give explanations, the PML-N chief added.

Nawaz said he (Imran) had put the children of the Manika family in a tight corner to face various questions and had hid himself. “If you (Imran Khan) have committed something like that, you should come forward and tell the public about it.

“Why you are hiding like cowards,” Nawaz added.

Earlier, during the court proceedings, when certain prosecution witnesses were recording their statements, Nawaz Sharif asked in a sarcastic way: “What’s happening to us here?”

Maryam Nawaz, a co-accused in the corruption references, completed her father’s sentence saying “they are making joke (of the justice system).”

While talking to a senior party leader, Raja Zafarul Haq, Nawaz related a brief story. He said that some 30/40 years ago, a producer spent huge money in making a film. The film was released on the box office. Later, someone asked the producer as to how his film was going on at the box office. The producer replied that for the first week, it was fabulous (Zabardast), but in the second week it was ‘Zabardasti’ (displayed without any public interest).

He was referring to the corruption references framed against him, which grabbed much attention initially, but later on it lost the steam when nothing substantial come to the fore.

During proceedings, Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz kept asking from reporters what did they find about the cases until now. The PML-N leader said that what was going on in the accountability court was not being published by the newspapers.

Maryam Nawaz added that still they did not find any proofs of any embezzlement.

When Nawaz was asked about Dr Tahirul Qadri’s scheduled protest on Jan 17, he said they had been facing protests, long marches, movements and sit-ins for the last four-and-a-half years, and now that had become a routine for them.

Court proceedings

The accountability court recorded statements of four prosecution witnesses on Tuesday in the three corruption references pending against the Sharif family: Flagship, Azizia and Avenfield apartments.

One of the witnesses in Avenfield apartments reference, Umar Draz Gondal, could not appear before the court due to his ailment. NAB prosecutor Sardar Muzaffar Abbasi submitted an application before the court that the witness was suffering from fever so he might be granted exemption from appearance.

At this, the legal counsel for Maryam Nawaz, Amjad Pervez advocate, asserted that the prosecution should submit a medical certificate from a government hospital in this regard.

A joint registrar of the Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) Company Registration Office Lahore, Sidra Mansoor, recorded her statement in Azizia corruption reference.

Earlier on Nov 15, 2017, she had recorded her statement in Avenfield apartment corruption reference.

On Tuesday, she submitted before the court that she appeared before a NAB investigation officer on Aug 25, 2017, and recorded her statement. “There I produced certified copies of form ‘A’ and form ‘29’ regarding Mehran Ramzan Textile Mills Limited in the context of its three shareholders -- Mian Nawaz Sharif, Hussain Nawaz and Hassan Nawaz.” She submitted that as per form ‘A’ dated December 31, 2000, Hussain Nawaz was holding 487,400 shares of the company with a value of Rs10 per share. On February 12, 2001, he donated/gifted all these shares to the Sharif Trust. As per form ‘A’, the Sharif Trust then transferred him (Hussain Nawaz) 1,000 shares on March 16, 2001. During cross-examination, counsel for Nawaz Sharif, Khwaja Haris questioned the lady whether she got any record of Azizia Steel Company or Hill Metal Establishment in Jeddah? To which she replied in negative. Khwaja Haris then questioned that whether any transaction of Azizia or Hill Metal had any connection with Mehran Ramzan Textile Mills?

Ms Mansoor replied that as per record there was no connection.

Ms Mansoor admitted that the documents she produced before the court were neither prepared, nor signed or executed by her. Khwaja Haris pointed out that as per record list of the past and present, directors of the company were not complete.

Sidra Mansoor also admitted the fact that all shareholders of Mehran Ramzan Textile Mills had initially donated their shares to the Sharif Trust and later the trust returned 1000 shares, to each shareholder and it was not an exclusive act for Hussain Nawaz.

To a question posed to her from the defence lawyers that whether the SECP ever objected to the record of Mehran Ramzan Textile Mills, Ms Mansoor said that as per her knowledge, no objection was ever raised.

Another prosecution witness Muhammad Tasleem Khan, regional Tax Officer (retd) Inland Revenue Service, also recorded his statement. Tasleem told the court that he retired from service on Oct 9, 2017. On August 21, a Commissioner Inland Revenue Service Fiza Batool directed him to accompany Jehangir Ahmed Commissioner Inland Revenue Withholding Taxes Zone Lahore to NAB office Islamabad. “We submitted details of Mian Nawaz Sharif, Hussain Nawaz and Hassan Nawaz’s Income Tax returns, Wealth Tax returns and Wealth statements to NAB investigation officers Muhammad Kamran and Mehboob Alam,” Tasleem said.

A prosecution witness Uzair Rehan recorded his statement in Flagship corruption reference and submitted record of Chaudhry Sugar Mills. Muhammad Zubair of Standard Chartered Bank recorded his statement in Azizia corruption reference.

Further hearing will be held on Jan 16 when Nasir Junejo, Afaq Ahmed and Umar Draz Gondal will record their statements.

Meetings

Meanwhile, talking to a group of lawyers, led by Naseer Bhutta, in the presence of Maryam Nawaz, Punjab Governor Rafique Rajwana and PML-N Chairman Raja Zafarul Haq, Nawaz Sharif said he had no differences with the Supreme Court, but with certain judges “who did not decide [his case] on merit”.

"Judges welcomed every martial law. Whenever there was a military coup in the country, no one would know about it but this is not the case today," added Nawaz.

The former prime minister demanded a trial of military dictators, in the same way he was tried in the Supreme Court.

"We have to see what happened to people in 1971, when the country was broken into two.

“They were the same people who worked day and night with Quaid-e-Azam to create Pakistan. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was a patriot, but he was turned into a rebel. Even today, such games are being played," said Nawaz.

Nawaz said he wanted to forget all incidents of injustice meted out to him. He warned that his soul should not be inflicted with such wounds that he loses control on his emotions and bursts out.

Nawaz said “we all are responsible” for not raising our voices against “the judiciary when it gave [military] dictators the right to make changes to the Constitution.

"They [judges] gave away the right that they themselves didn’t have," he stressed, adding that the entire nation is now witness to Pakistan's situation today.

"US President Donald Trump has used insulting language in a recent statement about Pakistan. Can a country with any self-respect tolerate such statements from another country’s president?" asked the former premier.

"We have been humiliated by [that statement] and we should try to find the reason why we were humiliated."

"Why is another country’s president using such terms for a sovereign country while we have become [mere] spectators.

“Today, more than ever before, we need to reflect on our own past and try to find out the reasons for such [verbal] attacks on Pakistan –a sovereign country."

Nawaz said that the nation should compare Pakistan's situation with other countries in the region.

"I believe, in Central Asia or South Asia or even the entire world, we are the only country that has had to listen to such terms used against us. We need to reflect upon our own doings to find out why we are being treated this way."

"We know how our judicial system welcomed dictators and martial law administrators and invented the doctrine of necessity and yet we never held [anyone] accountable."

Nawaz continued to say that the nations that do not hold [their own self] accountable with time are attacked [the way Pakistan was in Trump's recent statement].

"The attackers understand that such countries will not be affected by whatever they are told, but this is not the way dignified nations operate."

The former premier also said that a campaign of revenge has been launched against him, adding that, "I will face every conspiracy".

The PML-N chief said that the standard of justice should be the same for everyone. "The country should benefit from the sacrifices that I have rendered," he added.

The former prime minister also said that he believes in the supremacy of the Constitution.