I would demand to suspend NAB law: Nawaz

ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Friday said that in his meeting with Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, he would ask him to bring about a law through an ordinance in order to suspend the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) law during the interim period of the caretaker government.

Talking to the media inside and outside the Accountability Court (AC), he said that it does not mean that he is seeking relief for himself. His cases may be carried on till adjudication but otherwise the NAB law may be suspended that is being used to pressurise politicians for changing their loyalties just like the NAB has started investigation against Ameer Muqam who is a prominent PML-N leader from his area, Nawaz said. He condemned the act to put Geo News off-air and said that it was an injustice.

He appreciated Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar for what he said on Thursday that the general elections would not be delayed and the judiciary would not allow martial law.

In the same breath, Nawaz Sharif said that for the elections, there should be level playing field for all. When elections are going to be held, using NAB law to pressurise the politicians for changing their loyalties is unfortunate and the CJP should take notice of it.

Talking about the Senate elections, he said that they removed him from the presidency of the party and he couldn’t even award tickets to the senators.

Friday’s AC proceedings in Avenfield apartments corruption reference were adjourned without any hearing due to the ailment of judge Muhammad Bashir. Duty judge Malik Arshad however marked attendance of the accused -- Nawaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz, Captain(retd) Muhammad Safdar and prosecution witness Joint Investigation Team (JIT) head, Additional Director General Federal Investigation Agency, Wajid Zia.

During Friday’s proceedings, Pukhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) head Mehmood Khan Achakzai and National Party chief Mir Hasil Khan Bizenjo accompanied Nawaz Sharif along side Mushahid Hussain Sayed, Marriyum Aurangzeb and other PML-N leaders who regularly accompany the PML-N supremo.

Nawaz Sharif, inside the AC, pointing towards Achakzai and Bizenjo said that they are our ideological friends and such friendship is not easy to break. Nawaz Sharif said that the whole nation is raising slogans to give respect to the vote. The people should reject those who change their loyalties for greed or pressure. The people who sell their votes and change their loyalties would not get any respect now and in fact they are not respectable people, Nawaz said. Whatever happened in Balochistan is pre-poll rigging, and his disqualification before the Senate election was also pre-poll rigging, Nawaz said.

He said that he sticks to his words whatever he said that the AC proceedings may be telecast live on national television. “Though we haven’t filed a written application in this respect but whatever I said I stick to it,” Nawaz said and added, “I want this nation know how fraud and bogus this case is.” He endorsed Mehmood Khan Achakzai saying, “We are not in favour of picking fights with anyone and don’t want any confrontation. Instead we want to move towards peace and prosperity. If all institutions work in their own constitutional limits and let democracy work, we don’t have to fight anyone.”

Nawaz, however, said that the July 28, 2017 verdict created chaos in the country. “Our economy is witnessing downslide, US dollar rose and a journey towards prosperity suffered setbacks,” he asserted. “And on what basis the July 28 judgment disqualified me? Corruption was not the case and had I did, Mehmood Khan Achakzai and Hasil Khan Bizenjo might not have stood here with me,” Nawaz said and added, “I would also have not stood here and I would have accepted the court’s decision. I would not have wasted a moment to admit that I had committed corruption and I am ready to face the penalty. JIT has put different things together and what is missing in this case is the proof of any corruption,” he said.

After the statement of Robert W Radley, everything related to this case has been exposed and I failed to understand why the Supreme Court disqualified him, Nawaz said.

“Pakistan cannot go ahead this way. This country does not belong to a single group instead it is a country of four provinces and all inhabitants of the provinces are owner of this country. Last day whatever the CJP said, we endorse him but there should be a level playing field for everyone in this country. It couldn’t be like this that you tie hands of a person and put him to contest and the other being left in an open field. The case of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan was stronger than me. He admitted the ownership of an offshore company but even then the Supreme Court gave him a clean-chit. In our case, I was removed from the party presidency and I couldn’t even award the Senate tickets to the candidates. Why the Supreme Court did not take any action over the horse trading in Balochistan. How Senate chairman was elected and if CJP took any suo moto notice,” Nawaz questioned.

He said that he appreciated the CJP who said that the elections should be free and fair but he had to prove whatever he said through his actions. No political party would accept delay in election. If it were delayed, he would give a protest call even from jail. Now people are aware and they know what kind of jokes have been made to this country for the last 70 years,” he said.

To a question regarding Asif Ali Zardari’s statement that he would snatch away the chief minister-ship of Punjab, Nawaz said that Mr Zardari should first get his votes increased. At the moment, his candidates in every election in Punjab are getting 400 to 500 votes.

Talking about the NAB law, Nawaz said, “I think that it is a black law that is in general formed to penalise the politicians and in particular me. We will abolish this law formed by a dictator. But we would not abolish it till cases against me get adjudicated,” he said.

“During the interim government, we want this law to get suspended. NAB law is being misused,” he said. Responding to a question that NAB couldn’t prove receipt of salary, Nawaz said that receiving or not receiving salary was not the reason for disqualification and the reason was something else. “These cases pertain to our assets. In 1969, we constructed 7 houses in Lahore on 100 Kanal land. London flats are nothing in comparison to those houses. We had money to build those houses. In 1972, our factory was nationalised since it was big enough to be nationalised. Our assets remained less than our sources of income and we had money to purchase London flats,” he said.