Nawaz bailed out on condition of keeping mum: Aitzaz

LAHORE: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) senior leader Aitzaz Ahsan has claimed that former premier Nawaz Sharif has been granted bail on the condition of keeping mum, and he may also opt for the plea bargain option with the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

In a talk with a private TV channel on Friday, he said leniency shown to the Pakistan Muslim League-N quaid was unprecedented – the one which a convict never gets.

“The Pakistan People’s Party and the Muslim League-Nawaz can never get along with each other as the PML-N soon breaks into having laddu and rasgullay [sweets],” said the PPP leader. He said both parties, PPP and PML-N, believe that joining hands in the current situation could damage their politics.

“The six-week leeway has been offered to him [Nawaz] for holding his tongue.” The PML-N members are speechless as they are seeking concessions from the government. Shahbaz Sharif’s language is toned down and Maryam Nawaz has ceased tweeting, he pointed out. He said continuing politics in the country for the Sharif brothers had become very difficult. He said a main accused had taken a U-turn, as Khwaja Asif had become a witness from the plaintiff in Nandipur power project scam.

However, he added, a day would come when he (Nawaz) would have to go to jail. People who had distributed sweets over his release would then be left to regret, he added. The PML-N founder may also take recourse to the plea bargain, Aitzaz said, replying to a question.

The former senator remarked that the state has a soft hand on Nawaz Sharif but a tight grip over [former president] Asif Ali Zardari. He said it is because the decision makers want to have complete control over Zardari and PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

At present, Zardari and Bilawal are playing on the front foot, he said. On the contrary, the PML-N has stopped playing the role of an opposition, seeking to meet its interests, he added.

On March 26, the Supreme Court approved Nawaz Sharif’s bail plea on medical grounds for six weeks against surety bonds of Rs5 million.

Nawaz spent three months at the Kot Lakhpat Jail after being convicted in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills reference on December 24, 2018. He was sentenced to seven years in jail but his lawyers had appealed to the top court to suspend his sentence until the final verdict in his appeal is announced.