Nawaz faces NAB today

ISLAMABAD: Ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif will appear before the accountability court on Tuesday in references filed against him by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) confirmed on Monday. “Nawaz Sharif will appear before Accountability Court in Islamabad on Tuesday,” Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on Political Affairs Senator Asif Kirmani told media after Nawaz Sharif’s return to Pakistan on Monday. He said PML-N had always held the courts in high esteem. He added that the former prime minister will also address a news conference on Tuesday after his appearance before the court. Earlier in the morning, Nawaz Sharif reached Islamabad via a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight from London where he was staying to look after his ailing wife, Kulsoom Nawaz, who’s suffering from lymphoma and has had three surgeries so far. On his arrival, Nawaz Sharif was received by Adviser on Aviation Sardar Mehtab Abbasi, Federal Minister for Railways Kh Saad Rafique, Khyber Pakhtunkhawa Governor Iqbal Zafar Jhagra, Talal Chaudhary, Pervaiz Rasheed and other party leaders. “My return is an appropriate answer to propagandists,” he told media soon after his arrival. “I never planned to stay back in London … had only went to take care of my wife … neither are we corrupt nor have looted money from the state treasure,” he said. The former prime minister reaffirmed that his family had done nothing wrong, hoping that they will triumph in the accountability court. “Political unrest has caused damage to Pakistan. Situation should ease now,” he added. Later in the day, Nawaz Sharif consulted senior party leaders on the developments following NAB summons at a meeting held at the Punjab House. Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi held a detailed meeting with Nawaz Sharif after his return from London. The two leaders discussed matters related to the party and the political situation in the country. In an unexpected development, former interior minister Chaudhry Nisar also met deposed premier Nawaz Sharif at the Punjab House and inquired about the health of Kulsoom Nawaz and wished for her early recovery. PML-N leaders Pervez Rashid and Asif Kirmani, among others, were in attendance on the occasion. The two leaders, in a one-on-one meeting later, also spoke about the concerns and reservations relating to the party’s affairs and the political situation of the country, according to sources. Nawaz Sharif’s daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law Captain (r) Safdar are also reportedly set to return to Pakistan and have already booked their flights. However, Hassan Nawaz and Hussain Nawaz will stay in London with their mother Kulsoom Nawaz who is undergoing treatment for cancer. In its July 28 verdict in the Panama Papers case, the apex court had ordered NAB to file references against the Nawaz, his sons Hassan Nawaz and Hussain Nawaz, daughter Maryam Nawaz, her husband Capt (retd) Safdar and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar within six weeks of the announcement of the judgement. Following the apex court directions, NAB filed three references against Nawaz Sharif and his children, pertaining to which an accountability court summoned them on September 19. However, Sharifs failed to appear before the court. Last week, terming the NAB proceedings a ‘farce’, Nawaz’s daughter, Maryam, had advised him not to appear before the accountability court. Following his disqualification, Nawaz Sharif was also relinquished of his charge as party head. The Senate on Friday, however, passed the Electoral Reforms Bill, 2017, paving the way for Nawaz Sharif to regain PML-N’s chairmanship. Nawaz Sharif served as prime minister twice in the 1990s but failed to complete his tenure. In his second term he was ousted in October 1999 coup leading to a decade of exile. He won a third term as prime minister after 2013 general elections but was disqualified by the apex court in fourth year of his regime.      Published in Daily Times, September 26th 2017.