Burden on courts to deliver justice that’s seen to be done: PM

LONDON: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has said that justice must be seen to be done and this is a “great burden” on the shoulders of Pakistan’s judiciary in the case of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif who is facing the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) cases against under unprecedented supervision of a Supreme Court judge.

Speaking to the media at the Heathrow airport here, the prime minister said that courts deliver justice through behaviour and actions and it’s on the courts to prove how they deliver justice. “It’s the first step towards delivery of justice that justice must not only be done but seen to be done,” he said.

He was asked by a reporter that there are wide-held suspicions that former PM Nawaz Sharif will not be able to get justice at the NAB courts because the junior court is under pressure from the Supreme Court which disqualified Nawaz Sharif.

The prime minister earlier said that his party leader Nawaz Sharif didn’t get fair trial at the Supreme Court which disqualified him on thebasis of Iqama.

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi arrived here on Friday afternoon to attend the "Future of Pakistan 2017" where he will make a keynote speech on Pakistan. He said there is optimism in Pakistan and issues faced by the government will be dealt with. 

The "Future of Pakistan 2017" conference, flagship conference of the Pakistan Development Society, has been organised in collaboration with the South Asia Centre at the London School of Economics to bring together academics, politicians and professionals to debate the directions in which Pakistan is progressing, and the impact of government initiatives and policies on its citizens and future. 

Speaking about the conference this year, President of the LSE Pakistan Development Society and lead organiser Omer Azhar Bhatti said the principal purpose of the event was to "provide student interaction with top-level academics, policy-makers, and senior political brass of Pakistan". 

Omer explained: “The conference this year is crucial because it brings together for the first time prominent PPP and PML-N leaders together at LSE, a world-renowned institution that is known for the value it adds to productive discourse, development of research agendas, and growth of ideas. Senator Sherry Rehman and Qamar Zaman Kaira will speak at the same venue as Miftah Ismail (Special Assistant to the PM on Economic Affairs) and Senator Abdul Qayyum. Prominent journalists will engage speakers in topics as different yet crucial as the current tussles in Pakistan, methods to strengthen democracy, build a longer-term developmental agenda, and Pakistan's relations with foreign powers. The organisers of the conference believe that at least some of the ideas exchanged at this international forum will find their way into formal policy and political thinking in due course.”

He said that highlight of the conference this year is the keynote address and Q&A between LSE students and Prime Minister Abbasi. “Mr Abbasi's participation has been made possible through the relentless efforts of the South Asia Centre, who have forefronted the idea of developing an alternative research agenda for Pakistan at LSE. The prime minister is expected to make a major announcement regarding the establishment of a long-term research programme focused on Pakistan at the South Asia Centre,” he added.