Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif arrives to the district High Court ahead of a hearing on treason allegations, in Lahore, Pakistan October 8, 2018
Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Monday resumed his political activities weeks after suspension of his ten-year jail term in a corruption case by a high court.
The three-time premier chaired a meeting of his Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) party in northeastern city of Lahore, which was called to chalk out a strategy after the arrest of opposition leader and the party President Shehbaz Sharif for his alleged involvement in a housing scheme scam last week.
The hours-long meeting tasked the party chairman Senator Raja Zafar-ul-Haq to contact other opposition groups, mainly the center-left Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and five-party religious alliance Muttahida Majlis-a-Amal (MMA), for a joint strategy to tackle the “political victimization,” local broadcaster Geo News reported.
It seems as if the worst is not over for the Sharif family, which has occupied prominent political offices in Pakistan for nearly three decades.With three-time premier Nawaz Sharif and his daughter and political heir Maryam Nawaz out on bail last month, analysts had speculated that the situation would cool down.But the arrest of Shehbaz Sharif, opposition leader of the National Assembly and head of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party, has set tongues wagging again.Shehbaz Sharif, the younger brother of Nawaz Sharif, was arrested by the anti-corruption watchdog National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in the northeastern city of Lahore on Friday for allegedly canceling a contract for a low-cost housing scheme and awarding it to his preferred company.Pakistan: 2 ex-PMs to appear in court over treason caseThe latest move -- a blow to the main opposition PML-N a week before the by-elections -- has also raised serious questions.The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government led by Prime Minister Imran Khan and the anti-corruption authorities claim that the former chief minister has caused “millions of rupees” in losses.Shehbaz Sharif denies the charge saying he, in fact, cancelled the contract because it had been awarded to a company blacklisted by the authorities.“This all was coming, and very much expected because Shehbaz was the one who had kept the party intact despite Nawaz Sharif's disqualification and other odds,” Zahid Hussain, an Islamabad-based political analyst, told Anadolu Agency referring to the three-time premier’s disqualification in the Panama Papers scandal, which subsequently led to a 10-year jail term slapped by an accountability court in July this year. A high court later suspended the sentence.Hussain, author of bestseller “The Scorpion’s Tail”, gives weight to the PML-N’s complain about “selective justice”.Pakistan reopens consulate in Afghanistan's Jalalabad“Yes, the complain has weight. Apparently, the PML-N is NAB's target. Its two key leaders -- Nawaz and Shehbaz -- have been ousted from the political scene, at least for the time being,” he said.Haq Nawaz, another Islamabad-based political commentator, sees the latest arrest as move which can easily be classified as political victimization.“This act will have serious repercussions for the Imran Khan-led government whose slogan was justice for all and across the board accountability. But so far only one family is being targeted,” Nawaz told Anadolu Agency .“Shehbaz’s arrest is a clear message to the Sharif family that it’s not over yet for them.”Pakistani court orders probe into 2014 school attack Timing of arrestRana Qaisar, a senior journalist from Islamabad, agrees that the timing of Shehbaz’s arrest is odd.“We can talk about the timing but it could be a coincidence. I do not see it as a deliberate or targeted action," Rana said while speaking to Anadolu Agency. Analysts, however, appear to be wary about the reasons which led to Shehbaz Sharif's arrest.“Shehbaz’s arrest will certainly not only add to the confusion in politics but also fuel political confrontation,” Hussain observed. He doubted if the establishment -- a term coined to denote the powerful military that has ruled the country for half its history and is accused of meddling in politics -- had devised a strategy to further attack the PML-N."It is more of a case in which something you start goes out of your hand," he said."The government has activated the NAB, which in the past no doubt remained dormant. But it seems if the NAB is unleashed now, and is acting wherever it likes. "No doubt, there have been corrupt practices in the country but canceling a contract and awarding it to another does not necessarily mean its corruption," he added.Despite making tall claims NAB often fails to produce evidence and convince the court, he said.The Islamabad High Court last month declared NAB evidences insufficient to sentence Nawaz Sharif.Qaisar says the "sheer confusion" which surrounds politics in Pakistan will eventually lead to clarity.Disagreeing that NAB was targeting the Sharif family, he said: "State institutions can operate independently as well. Why do we always doubt their integrity?" Established by former military ruler Gen. Pervez Musharraf in 2000, NAB has often been accused of targeting anti-government politicians.Analysts say with the two top leaders of the party embroiled in court cases, a serious crisis of leadership would emerge in the party. Also without Shehbaz Sharif, a crowd puller, the party is unlikely to perform well in the by-election on Oct. 14.In the July general election the PML-N emerged as the single largest party in the Punjab province, its political stronghold. However, it failed to form a government in the province as PTI paired with smaller coalition partners.The by-election could give the PML-N a second chance to win a simple majority in Punjab.
Troubled times ahead for Sharifs in Pakistan: analysts
The opposition will also walk out of the forthcoming sessions of the lower and upper houses to protest Shehbaz’s arrest, Haq was quoted as saying by the broadcaster.
Sharif was elected the party’s lifetime supreme leader following his disqualification for the posts of prime minister and the party president by the country’s top court in the Panama papers scandal last year.
He remained away from politics for three months after he together with his daughter and political heir, Maryam Nawaz, and son-in-Law Muhammad Safdar got jail terms by an accountability court in July this year.
However, the Islamabad High Court suspended the jail terms and ordered their release on a bail last month.
Two former Pakistani prime ministers, Nawaz Sharif and Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, will appear before a court on Monday for a hearing on a treason case, local media reported.Sharif has been charged with treason for his controversial July interview with local daily Dawn, in which he accused the country's security agencies of turning a blind eye to the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks.Over 150 people were killed in the deadly attacks for which New Delhi blames Pakistani intelligence agencies. Islamabad, however, denies any involvement.Court remands Pakistani opposition leader in graft caseAbbasi, who served as premier for eight months following the disqualification of his predecessor Sharif due to a corruption case, has been charged with "facilitating" the controversial interview.The interviewer Cyril Almeida is also among the accused.All the three accused will appear before a full bench of the Lahore High Court, local broadcaster Dunya TV reported.Sharif who served as premier for three terms, was sentenced to 10 years in jail last July but was released on bail after the Islamabad High Court suspended the sentence last month.He remains embroiled in another two corruption cases.Pakistani court orders probe into 2014 school attack
Pakistan: 2 ex-PMs to appear in court over treason case
Meanwhile, Sharif together with another former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, and a senior journalist appeared before a full bench of the Lahore High Court on Monday to join the hearing of a treason case.
The trio was charged with treason in September this year following Sharif’s controversial interview with local English Daily Dawn in which he accused the country’s security agencies of turning the blind eye to the militants involved in 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks.
Over 150 people were killed in the deadly attack for which New Delhi blames Pakistani intelligence agencies. Islamabad, however, denies any involvement.
Abbasi, who succeeded Sharif after the latter’s disqualification, was charged with facilitating the controversial interview.
Last month, the court had issued arrest warrants for Abbasi and the interviewer Cyril Almeida. However, the warrants were withdrawn on Monday following their appearance in the court.