Better go home than to jail, Siraj tells Nawaz

Sharif family’s refusal to appear before NAB has set a bad example for ordinary citizens

QUETTA: Ameer Jamat-e-Islami Sirajul Haq has said that Nawaz Sharif will have to accept the Supreme Court verdict over his disqualification as no one is above the law, and everyone, including politicians, judges and generals, must be held accountable.

Talking to journalists at the Quetta Press Clubs on Saturday, Haq said: “Nawaz Sharif and his family’s refusal to appear before the accountability court has set a negative precedent as it encourages the ordinary citizen to disrespect courts.”



He said: “Nawaz Sharif should have accepted the court’s verdict but he chose to stage a march on the GT Road, proving that elitist politicians do not respect the judiciary … It is better to go home than to go to jail on corruption charges.”

JI Ameer said that his party had launched its anti-corruption drive 16 months ago, adding that it sought to hold all corrupt elements in society to account.

“We tried to devise terms of reference (ToRs), but the government refused to accept them that forced us to file a petition in the Supreme Court against Nawaz Sharif and his family,” he said.

Stressing the need for across-the-board accountability, Haq said his party called for the accountability of the PML-N government and of the PPP and Musharraf regimes because “it is corruption that damaged Pakistan more than terrorism”.



He stressed the need for devising an impartial accountability system in the country to hold all corrupt elements – whether politicians, bureaucrats, judges or generals – accountable.

Referring to the law and order situation in Balochistan, the JI Ameer said: “Despite allocating more than Rs30 billion for security, Balochistan is still bleeding, indicating a precarious law and order situation in the province.”