Freedom or jail: What new year brings for Nawaz, Zardari

ISLAMABAD: The new year will decide whether two key opposition politicians – ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif and former president Asif Ali Zardari – will remain free or be behind the bars as all eyes are set on the determinations of courts.

For both, the crucial date is December 24. Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar ordered the Accountability Court of Islamabad, trying Nawaz Sharif in two references filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on its direction contained in the Panama judgment, to conclude its hearings by Dec 17 and announce its judgment by Dec 24. It directed the ex-premier’s counsel Khawaja Haris to ensure completion of his arguments till Dec 17.

On Dec 24, a Chief Justice-led bench will take into consideration the final report of a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) regarding the alleged multibillion fake bank accounts, with Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur being among the suspects. The JIT was formed by the apex court.

In its last hearing, the court granted two weeks to the JIT to complete its probe. “With respect to the final report by the JIT, let the same be submitted within a period of two weeks positively.”

This period will end on Dec 19 and on the same day, the JIT will submit its report. The bench will take it up on December 24.

An official told The News that almost forty percent manpower of the FIA is working with the JIT, which has taken a number of its officials from all zones including Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar.

Besides, he said, the officers from the State Bank of Pakistan, Security Exchange Commission of Pakistan, and Federal Board of Revenue are also working with the JIT.

The official believed that JIT head Ehsan Sadiq was currently writing down his report, and added that it would be very elaborate as it would cover comprehensive bank transactions. He said even the FIA director general was unaware of the recommendations to be made by the JIT, and reminded that the apex court ordered Ehsan Sadiq to give his report in a sealed envelope.

“It will be up to the Supreme Court to order the arrest of Zardari and others on the basis of the JIT recommendations,” the official said.

Zardari has recorded his statement to the JIT while his son Bilawal submitted a written response to a questionnaire provided to him.

The political temperature will heat up if Nawaz Sharif was convicted by the accountability court again and if Zardari was arrested. However, both senior politicians have declared that they were not scared of being sent to jail.

When in July this year, the accountability court convicted Nawaz Sharif in the London apartments’ reference, he happened to be in Britain in connection with the serious ailment of his hospitalised wife, Begum Kulsoom. A week after the judgment, he accompanied by his daughter Maryam flew back to Pakistan to court arrest. They were taken into custody at the Lahore airport on July 13 as they landed there.

Zardari, who has become very aggressive in the recent days as the JIT is about to wrap up its assignment, has declared more than once that he was not fearful of the arrest. He has also stated that the jail is his second home.

The impact of the arrest of the two top politicians or one of them will be felt inside Parliament as the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) lawmakers will resort to frequent protests and disrupt proceedings. With the passage of time and in the changed scenario, the bitterness between the two parties has alleviated to a great extent and both are projecting the same narrative of their victimisation for different objectives.

The actions against Nawaz Sharif and Zardari may bring the PML-N and PPP further close. During the hearings in the Panama case in the Supreme Court, the PPP kept attacking the then beleaguered Nawaz Sharif but stopped short of becoming a petitioner against him.

However, the PML-N has not made any contribution to the ongoing onslaught against Zardari on account of the fake accounts. It is silent on the charges against him.