PML-N to take advantage of Avenfield verdict: Zardari

ISLAMABAD/LAHORE: PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari on Friday said the PML-N would take political advantage and sympathies of people from the accountability court’s verdict in the Avenfield reference against Nawaz Sharif and family members. They still had options of appeal to get relief from the superior courts, he said while talking to a private news channel.

He claimed that Nawaz would not return to the country because he had taken political asylum in England. He said it was a reality that Nawaz had a vote bank that would shift to Maryam Nawaz, not to Shahbaz Sharif.

Regarding the possibility of delay in general election, Zardari said there was no room in the Constitution to delay the general elections.

Similarly, PPP's senior leader Khursheed Shah said the timing of the verdict was wrong. “Announcing the judgment so close to the elections can have multiple meanings,” he said and opined that the decision should have been announced three months ago. “Nawaz Sharif will benefit from this verdict,” he said, but added that the former prime minister would not have faced the current situation if he had presented the issue in the assembly.

But Senator Sherry Rehman said the decision was not unexpected and the former prime minister had failed to defend the case against him. “Nawaz Sharif is now aiming to make the elections controversial and started efforts to make it controversial by terming the court decision as political,” she said.

She said Nawaz had put the whole democratic system in danger and even also his party through his efforts to make the upcoming election controversial. Sherry said the reaction of Shahbaz Sharif against the decision was soft. ‘Nawaz Sharif not only put his party in trouble but also his brother Shahbaz Sharif,” she said.

She said the PPP always supported democracy in the parliament and when the PPP gave support to Nawaz in the parliament, he assumed it a deal with his government.

The PML-N was saying that if the election results came in their favour then the elections were free, fair and transparent and if the people’s verdict in the upcoming election comes against them, it meant the elections were rigged, she remarked. “Returning to the country is a compulsion for Nawaz Sharif,” Sherry opined.

Similarly, PPP central Punjab president Qamar Zaman Kaira said his party always expected justice from courts. The Sharifs had faced accountability for the first time in three decades and this judgment had exposed their so-called transparency in politics, he added.

He said the verdict indicated the fact that their motives were only to commit corruption in politics and “it’s his younger brother Shahbaz Sharif’s turn now to face the courts”.

But MMA chief Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman said Nawaz adopted a democratic way to go to public after the accountability court's verdict. It would be seen later whether the sympathies of masses were with him or not and they were welcoming the decision or rejecting it, he told a private news channel. He said the opponents of Nawaz would definitely try to get advantage from the verdict.

Awami Muslim League chief Sheikh Rasheed remarked that a political bigwig had been sentenced for the first time in Pakistan’s history. “There is no doubt that Maryam Nawaz forged signature in the Panama Papers case. The documents were forged,” he claimed.

He remarked that Nawaz wanted the people to come out on the roads. "They expect those people to come out to whom they didn't even provide basic facilities," he said. However, he added that all the guilty persons hadn’t been punished, as “the story of Model Town cruelty is still left”.

On the other hand, the PTI hailed the judgment, but some party leaders, terming the punishment ‘insufficient’, also demanded recovery of the national wealth allegedly plundered by the Sharifs.

Shireen Mazari alleged that the thief had been caught red-handed. “Congratulations to Imran on behalf of the entire nation on the long-drawn struggle against corruption,” she remarked.

She alleged that Nawaz always lied about money-laundering and “today he stood totally exposed before the nation after a transparent trial”.

Earlier, Fawad Chaudhry, during an informal chat with media persons before the announcement of the judgment, said that the court verdict would have a positive impact on Pakistani politics and it was in their interest that Nawaz was punished and the looted money was also brought back.

Jahangir Tareen in a tweet said Nawaz had fabricated a narrative that he was ousted for holding an Iqama but he had been sentenced for being a 'thief and money launderer'.

Faisal Vawda told The News that the beginning of the accountability process was a healthy sign for the country.

“The rulers are facing God’s wrath now. The struggle of Imran Khan has been rewarded today but still I believe the court decision isn’t enough, each and every penny of this nation should be recovered from the Sharifs,” said Mian Mehmood-ul-Rasheed.

Ejaz Chaudhry, addressing a gathering of the party workers who had gathered to celebrate Nawaz’s conviction, said the nation’s desire to see the corrupt elements behind the bar was about to be fulfilled.

JI chief Siraj-ul-Haq expressed concerns over the possible delay in polls due to the verdict. “The verdict against Nawaz should not influence the forthcoming elections,” he said, stressing that the polls should not be rescheduled following the verdict.

He reiterated his demand to hold all the 436 people listed in the Panama Papers accountable. “The nation wants across-the- board accountability,” he added.

PML-Q leader Pervaiz Elahi alleged that amending the laws regarding the sanctity of the Prophet (PBUH, blasphemy laws and the oath for legislators were the main crimes of Nawaz, which led to his humiliating downfall. He said the Sharif family falsely accused and maligned both the judiciary and army for their gains.

PTI leader Sardar Zulfiqar Khosa said, “As an outsider I can only give a bird’s eye view because I didn’t attend any hearing or I hadn’t read the detailed verdict. They were not able to give their money trails for a long time and now the time was over. The whole family was changing their statements throughout the proceedings.”

Responding to the query where would this decision leave the electorate in the coming election, he said, “Nawaz Sharif alone had had a sway over the PML-N’s vote bank.”

However, it is not clear whether Nawaz enjoyed the same status over the party following after having stayed aloof in his last tenure. With Shahbaz already persisting with his arrogant attitude over the years, the decision would surely put the leftover vote bank in a very difficult situation.