— Questions ‘validity’ of Panama Papers judgement, blames Imran for ‘destroying’ economy
— TV stations air former PM’s video statement in violation of PEMRA ban
ISLAMABAD: In his first TV appearance since October 2020 when the government barred the broadcast of his speeches, interviews and public addresses, Nawaz Sharif blamed Imran Khan, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chair, for “destroying the country in his quest to take revenge” on Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supreme leader.
In a pre-recorded video statement which aired Sunday, the disgraced former prime minister, who was accompanied by his daughter Maryam Nawaz, reiterated his criticism of the Panama Papers judgement that led to his disqualification from parliamentary politics, and questioned the “validity” of the verdict that ousted him for being employed by his Britain-based son.
قائد مسلم لیگ ن محمد نواز شریف کی مریم نواز کے ہمراہ میڈیا سے اہم گفتگو https://t.co/hBOCXlyHxC
— PML(N) (@pmln_org) October 9, 2022
“[I was] disqualified for life and removed from party presidency […] this was revenge, not a court’s decision,” he said, claiming that the bid for “revenge” had damaged Pakistan’s progress.
“Who told you to do this?” he said, referring to the judges who had ruled against him. Stressing that all judges who had committed such “injustices” should be held accountable, he added: “We will have to hold these people accountable if we want to take Pakistan forward.”
Sharif’s video statement was broadcasted by all TV stations, including the state-owned Pakistan Television, in staggering violation of the 2020 Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) order which bars channels from giving screentime to proclaimed offenders and absconders on national television.
Referring to Khan, Sharif said: “If you wanted to take revenge on me, that’s fine, by all means”, and asked, “who allowed them to take revenge on Pakistan?”
“In the process of taking revenge on me, you [Khan] destroyed Pakistan,” he declared, observing how “inflation soared during Khan’s tenure.”
Criticising the previous PTI government for rising inflation, he said: “In the last four to five years, every measure of progress has been reversed.”
“Inflation in the country skyrocketed between 2018-2022, while during my government, people were happy and content,” he said, blaming PTI for the present economic woes.
He said Pakistan was an independent country and he never compromised on its sovereignty and refused to accept the $5 billion allegedly offered in return for not carrying out nuclear tests in 1998.
The pre-recorded interview was short on any new details or insight, delving primarily into the problems faced by the Sharif family following his ouster as the prime minister.
Discussing the pain they had felt at the death of his wife, Kulsoom Nawaz, he recalled how his daughter had not met him or her brothers since Kulsoom’s death three years ago.
“I remember all those scenes, how my wife was on her deathbed and how cruelly we were treated — and those people [Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf] who were making fun,” he said.
“I also remember, when I got to know that the sentence [in Avenfield reference] was being announced on the 6th [July 2018], I said ‘my wife is very ill and is in a coma.’ I don’t know what issue they had, but they didn’t listen to my plea.”
Sharif then thanked Almighty for reuniting him with his daughter. “Today, Maryam came after proving that the case and punishment meted out to us were false and motivated.”
He asked: “Why were we made to suffer 200-250 [court] appearances and why five precious years of our lives were wasted? Surely someone must be held accountable for this […] do I not have the right to seek compensation?”
Sharif also praised Nawaz for being a brave daughter and supporting him during the testing times. “I was in prison and received the news that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) wanted to arrest her. I don’t think that the people heading the agency at the time had a feeling of sympathy for Maryam,” he said.
Dubbing the cases and sentences awarded to him and Maryam “fake”, Sharif then reiterated allegations of the decision being fast-tracked to sideline him from the 2018 general elections. He said that once the judgment was announced, he and Nawaz had both bid the ill Kulsoom farewell and returned to Pakistan.
“What they did to us as soon as we landed is before you. Today, Maryam came after winning her case and proved the case and punishment were false,” he said, questioning why 5 years of their lives had been spent on a now-dismissed case.
“Someone must be accountable, do I not have the right to ask this?” he said, lamenting that Maryam had then been arrested by NAB when she came to visit him at Kot Lakhpat prison.
Sharing memories of his late mother, Sharif said that when he was imprisoned, the circumstances weighed particularly heavily on his mother as his mother had a special affection for him.
He reminisced that whenever she came to visit him in the prison, his mother did not want to leave the premises without taking him along. “I always consoled her and told her it could not happen, then she insisted on staying in the prison with me,” the PML-N supremo added.
He recalled how Shehbaz Sharif, his brother and now prime minister, used to complain about their mother’s greater affection for Nawaz. He also recalled how he was sitting beside his mother as she breathed her last.
